


The Chosen One: A Reylo Story

by Chridder



Series: The Chosen One: A Reylo Saga [1]
Category: Star Wars, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Badass Rey, Character Development, F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Sex (Star Wars), Force enhanced sex, Hurt/Comfort, Knights of Ren - Freeform, Kylo Ren Redemption, POV Kylo Ren, POV Rey (Star Wars), Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Reylo - Freeform, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Unresolved Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-18
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-06 12:36:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 51,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13411395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chridder/pseuds/Chridder
Summary: What if your worst enemy could appear before you without warning? See your location? Read your mind?The bond between Rey and the new Supreme Leader is growing and it's dangerous. They both have much to conceal from each other... and yet the Force seems to make a point of bringing them together at their most vulnerable moments. Why do this? Why expose mortal enemies to each other's weaknesses and fears?Read and find out! This is a post TLJ Star Wars adventure/romance. The story tries to stay true to the film characters with some action scenes and a healthy dose of speculative plot. Chapters alternate between Rey and Kylo Ren's perspective. Part of a series. Check out the next story, "Finding Balance," after this one.





	1. Mission to an Abandoned Planet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey travels to the outer reaches of the galaxy to retrieve a lost Sith artifact sought by the Knights of Ren. She runs into trouble, and receives an unexpected visitor through her Force bond with Kylo Ren/ Ben Solo.

The smell… the smell was the worst part.

Putrid, like the insides of a jubba left to rot on the hot sands of Jakku, invading her senses, weakening her focus…

Rey breathes in sharply, holding it for a moment before releasing. She can’t allow herself to be distracted.

She walks carefully along the damp, uneven ground, her arm extended and her hand stretched open just an inch from the curved, wet surface of the cave walls. Everything around her is shrouded in darkness, but it does not matter to Rey. Her eyes are closed. Her mind is calm. She relaxes her shoulders and lets her head tilt back slightly, feeling The Force course through her…

She moves carefully. One foot forward, and then the next, with her outstretched hand still hovering an inch from the thick, layered rock of the wall. 

It’s close. She can sense it.

She continues forward methodically, one step at a time. She is determined to find it—she cannot fail. If another artifact falls into the hands of the Knights of Ren…

The Resistance, broken and bereft of allies, had not discovered what the Knights were up to until it was nearly too late. For the past several years, they’d been scouring the galaxy for the most powerful Sith artifacts known to exist, only to hoard them in the First Order archives. But to what end…?

The question has loomed ominously over Resistance leaders since they received the intel. General Leia warned Rey that these artifacts were infused with centuries of dark power and could enhance one’s ability to use the Force in a variety of unsettling ways. It’s even suspected that some can be used to commune with the Dark Lords who created them. The possibilities are disquieting…

When Rey’s struggling to fall sleep at night, she can’t stop the question from gnawing at her… _Why does he want them so desperately?_

“Let the past die. Kill it if you have to,” the low voice intones in her head. For just a moment, she can see the image so clearly. Gloved hand extending, dark eyes fixed on hers… unwavering… pleading…

She hangs her head instinctively. For a moment, a complex wave of emotions washes over her. Then, her head snaps up. She takes another deep breath and exhales slowly. She must clear her mind and focus on the task at hand.

She steps forward. Then again, and again. With each step, her foot sinks slightly into the cave’s muddied floors. The scent of rot lies thick in the air. The cold wind whips through the cave’s winding corridors. But Rey feels none of this. She only feels the Force…and through the Force, she senses it… buried deep in the walls, crying out to her like a lost and frightened child.  

She takes another step, then stops. Her eyes are still closed; her mind still calm.

It’s here.

She adjusts her body to face the wall directly. Her palm tingles as she senses the power of the artifact calling. The wall is hard and thick.

Rey stands, light and unmoving. She senses it all around her, expanding infinitely. The rhythm and hum of life and death, gain and loss, joy and sorrow. She opens herself to the Force, allowing it to flow through her. The artifact reaches out to her through the depths. She hears the faint echoes of screaming in her mind. She channels the Force to tease the artifact towards her, inch by inch. As she does, the screams grow louder, hollow and reverberating.

Closer. _Closer_. _Closer she draws it to her._

Rey snaps back suddenly. The sound of a small avalanche of rocks hitting the cave floor behind her jerks her out of her trance.

Something screeches in the distance. Is it the artifact? Is it just in her mind?

She turns back to the wall, closing her eyes. She hears the screams in her head again. They sound like the screams of children. A chorus of screams, growing louder and louder as the artifact draws nearer.

Rey begins shaking violently. Her whole body, from her outstretched hand, her extended arm, her head, her shoulders, her very core. She can feel their pain ripping through her, crippling her...

The artifact begins to slow down.

She breathes deeply and tries to reconnect with the thrum of energy around her. But she can only feel the rising panic of the screams… Suddenly, her body grows cold as the Dark power of the artifact surges through her, pushing her back from the wall. 

“ ** _No_** _._ ” The words barely escape her mouth in a whisper.

Determined, she steps forward, straightening her arm. She concentrates on this intruding coldness. Gradually, the cold grows warm, as though a spark ignited in her chest and began to blaze upwards, into her neck, her face, her skin. And suddenly she feels in control. She feels strong.

The artifact continues along its course; the screams roar in her ears as it does, and yet she feels strangely steady as the fire burns hot within her. Suddenly, the artifact bursts through the stone directly into her hand. It is a large crystal, pulsating with a deep red light, cool to the touch. The moment it reaches her fingers, the screams die away.  

For just a moment, everything is still as Rey stares transfixed at the crystal.

Then she hears it. The screeches. And not in the distance.

Rey turns towards the sound, and in an instant her body freezes in fear.

Creatures… she cannot see them well in this darkness, but she can vaguely make out the shape of them as a herd charges towards her at full speed, snarling. 

In one motion, she shoves the crystal in her pouch and takes off in the opposite direction. She jets out of the narrow corridor into a wider expanse of the cave, her heart pounding in her chest. A faint stream of light from high above the cavern’s depths casts shadows on the rocky, uneven earth before her.

“Don’t look back. Don’t look back, Rey,” she thinks to herself. “There is only one way—forward.”

The creatures shriek and snarl behind her. She can hear the heavy, pounding sound of their claws on the ground getting closer, closer…

Feeling the Force well within her, she leaps up and pivots one foot off the wall to the right, then the other off the wall to the left, landing with both feet onto a smooth, higher level of the cave.  

The creatures follow her. She can see them better now. They are the size of zillo beasts, four-legged with matted brown fur, hunched backs, and large pointed heads with two pairs of fangs the size of knives shooting both downwards and upwards out of their mouths. They leap nimbly, following the same path as Rey, claws digging into the rocky cavern walls as they hop from one side to the other, then up to her.

She runs with every ounce of energy she can muster. Panting heavily, she turns sharply down another dark, narrow corridor.

The creatures are still close on her heels, and now it’s pitch black. Rey runs with her eyes closed, allowing the Force to guide her through the darkness. She emerges out of the corridor into the faint light once more.

A wall. Just ahead. Tall, impossibly tall, and made of a smooth, black surface unlike the rocky, earthy walls below.

They won’t be able to sink their claws into it.

As it draws closer, she focuses. They are right on her heels now. She can feel their hot breath on her skin.

When the moment arrives, it’s as though time slows down around her. She closes her eyes and concentrates on the power of the Force rising in her core.  She bends her legs then propels herself upwards, high… higher than any average humanoid can leap.

But not high enough.

Her right hand catches a slight indention in the wall. She hangs on, swinging precariously above the creatures who jump up, snapping at her feet. They are just out of her reach. She flings her left hand upwards, catching another indention in the wall. As she prepares to pull herself up, all at once, a sharp pain explodes in her thigh and a heavy weight drags her downwards.

Rey lets out an anguished roar and without thinking, immediately releases her left hand and turns an open palm to the beast. A wave of power knocks it back to the ground with a thud. The fang lodged in Rey’s thigh snaps off.

Quickly, she turns back to the wall, pulling herself upwards with both arms and her right leg. Her left leg dangles like dead weight, throbbing. She tries to ignore the pain until she feels herself crawl over the edge of the wall onto the wet stone above.

She lets out a great exhale and lies flat on her back, panting. She listens to the screeches of the creatures as they slowly die down, die away… She is still in the cave. She can see the faint light of the planet’s suns above her, closer now than before, but still just a small ray of hope towering high in the distance.

The next wall she must climb is ten times higher. And now she’s injured.

Rey carefully sits up to inspect her leg. The fang is still lodged in her thigh, long enough for a sharp end to poke out of each side.

She grabs the base of the fang and pulls. She lets out a guttural groan as it slides slowly out of her. Her leg begins gushing blood. She quickly takes off her jacket and ties it tightly around her wound.

She’s slowed the bleeding for now. But she does not have long. She can feel it. The creature’s fang pierced something vital… she doesn’t know how long she has before she bleeds out on the floor of this cave.

She reaches into her pouch for her commlink. She must contact Poe. He’ll come for her. She feels around in the pouch for a few moments, but to her panic, feels nothing but a water canteen, a few quarter portions and the crystal. No commlink.

Suddenly, she sees it in her mind’s eye—in pieces on the cavern floor below.

Her head hangs down and her shoulders drop. She lets out a slow sigh and looks upwards. The wall looms high, towering above her. A grim but determined look registers on her face. She knows what she has to do.

She will not be defeated.

Rey drags herself over to the wall, rocks scraping against her bare arms, and begins hoisting herself upright by hooking her hands into small indentions along the surface. She stands on one leg now. She looks briefly down and then up again. The ray of light gleams faintly above.

Very, very carefully, she lets a little of her weight fall to her left leg. She winces and hisses in pain. Quickly, she pulls her body weight off the ground by planting her right leg in the wall and thrusting upwards. Her left leg dangles freely as she begins pulling herself up with her arms and good leg. Slowly, methodically… she cannot misstep.

Her progress is steady. She does not once look down, and yet she can sense that she is just over ten feet off the ground. She keeps her eyes trained on the ray of light whenever she can. She has a much longer way to go.

She continues upward, silently except for her breath and the occasional muted grunt of pain.

She extends her right hand and clasps another indention. She feels it… too late. The sweat of her palms slipping against the smooth surface. She loses her grip and the dead weight of her injured leg pulls her down, causing the other hand to slip.

Rey crashes to the cavern floor with a violent crack. She howls in pain, turning carefully to her right. Tears are streaming down her face as she drags her broken body back to the wall. When she gets there, she turns and lets her back rest against it. She unwraps her pouch from her waist and lays it to the side. Her injured leg is throbbing and stretched out before her. Her good leg is bent, with her forehead resting gently on it.

She still feels the blood slowly seeping from her wound. Now her whole body is aching from the fall. Exhaustion overtakes her, energy completely spent. Then the realization hits her, and when it does, she can barely breathe.

She is going to die here… right here… bleeding out in this cold, dark place, utterly alone… this is how her story will end.

She leans forward, breathing heavily… and lets out a sob. She tries to take a deep breath, but another sob escapes. Finally, she gives in as sobs violently wrack her body.

There… just for a minute, in the depths of a cave on an abandoned planet in the outer reaches of the galaxy, Rey gives up.

She feels her failure bitterly. Her body collapses on the cave floor, and she crawls forward, still shaking with sobs. She places her palms on the earth and presses upwards, pulling herself to her knees with her weight on the right. Facing the earth, she rests her forearms on the damp ground and releases her forehead to rest between them, as if she’s in prayer.

Tears streaming down her face,  she squeezes her eyes shut and cries.

Then, without warning, she feels it. Creeping in like an unwelcome memory…

“No,” she whispers softly, shaking her head.

“No, not now. Please…,” she whimpers.

The feeling grows stronger. Rey keeps squeezing her eyes shut, keeps shaking her head. She rocks gently forward and back. She tries to concentrate… to block him out…

“No… please. Not now, _No!_ ”

Suddenly, her eyes snap open as soft sobs escape her. With her forehead still pressed to the ground, she leans into her forearms, trembling. She senses his presence.

She does not look up, so she cannot see him, his dark figure standing tall and staring silently over her shivering form.

Her breathing shallow and labored, she says quietly but firmly, “Go. Away.”

Seconds pass… She tries to compose herself, to steady her breathing, to calm her shaking body. The cave is eerily silent. She still feels him watching her.

“ _GO AWAY_!” She sobs loudly, tears streaming down her face. She can’t bring herself to look up at him.

“Please… _please_ …  just go away.”

She begins to slowly crawl backwards away from him towards the wall. He still watches her. Silently.

She stops and lets out a gasp, falling to her side. Her breathing is uneven. She can’t seem to get enough oxygen. For a moment, she hears nothing but the sound of her sharp, short inhales. Then, she hears the click of his boots on the cavern floor walking towards her.

He stops right next to her, just at the wall. He pauses, then he slowly kneels down and sits next to her, resting back on the cave.

Rey stares at the ground, focusing on the sound of her own breath… and his. She’s unsure what to do. She can’t seem to make herself move. She still can’t look at him.

She feels his hand reach out… tentatively… then rest on her shoulder. He grips her skin softly, slipping his other hand underneath the crook of her arm on the opposite side and pulls her towards him.

His feet are planted on either side of her, legs bent, as he brings her body into his chest. They’ve never done more than touch fingertips through their Force bond. She didn’t even know this was possible…

She feels the warmth of his body envelop her as his arms wrap tightly but gently around her, pressing the right side of her body firmly against his. Her head rests in the middle of his chest, tucked just under his chin. He cradles the back of her head with his hand.

She curls into him and, once again, lets herself sob, trembling against him, tears flowing damp on his black uniform. As he squeezes her tightly, her trembles gradually die down. She rests against him, surrendering completely, and stops thinking about anything else except for this feeling of tenderness and belonging. She wants to hang on to this moment for as long as she can…

Eventually, her tears stop and her breathing begins to steady. She still rests her body on his chest, and rolls her forehead towards the center. His arms are still wrapped around her. They feel each other breathing softly, soon in synchronicity.

Though their Force bond, he can feel her pain… her despair… her fear of failure… of death. He also feels how at peace she is in his arms, content to melt into him, to escape into his warm body and deep breathing.

She can feel his conflict… that gnawing paranoia and lack of resolution raging just beneath the skin… his regret… his longing. She feels how much he wants this, how desperate he is for tenderness, for intimate human connection.

He holds her close and she lets him… for how long, neither of them know.

Her eyes are closed. She doesn’t feel the pain in her leg anymore… only the comfort of his warmth.

“Where are you?” His deep voice intones quietly.

In an instant, Rey snaps back to reality. She jerks away from him suddenly, scooting her body back away from his. Finally, she brings herself to look him in the eye.

This has always been dangerous for her. Since the first time he removed his helmet in the interrogation room on Starkiller Base, she’s had difficulty looking past the humanity brimming in his eyes… his irresolution… his… instinct for compassion? How can that be?

He gazes at her steadily, unblinking. Sitting upright with his legs still spread wide, he scoots his lower back to the wall and leans forwards with an elbow resting on his knee. His gaze intensifies. He repeats his question.

“Where are you?” His tone is soft, but firm.

“I’m sure you’d love to know,” she says defiantly, staring intently back at him.

For a moment, her mind wonders to the crystal in her pouch. It’s only a few feet away from him. She quickly tries to regain control over her thoughts. Their Force bond… If she knows it, he’ll know it… Or maybe it doesn’t matter? If this artifact is truly so powerful, can’t he sense that it’s here, this precious thing he and his Knights are so intent on finding?

If he knows the artifact is here, he doesn’t let on.

He never breaks eye contact. He leans forward a bit more, placing a hand under her elbow and another at her waist, pulling her back towards him. Her body presses against him. He brings his lips close to her ear. Her heart is pounding. So is his.

“You know I would come for you.” His breath tickles her skin.

“I know,” she answers in a whisper.

She still feels his hot breath on her neck. Her emotions well up and wash over her. A few more drops of tears escape her. She looks up, locking eyes with him briefly, then looks away, shaking her head. She’s done asking this man the question “Why?”

She begins scooting away from him again, but again he reaches out and pulls her closer. He brings her body back to his chest and turns her right side downwards. Then, he takes a hand under her left knee and gently bends her thigh towards his chest.

Rey winces a little in pain. She places a hand on his chest to steady herself and looks up at him with uncertainty.

He removes the thick black glove from his right hand and places it carefully next to him. He extends his hand towards the wound on her leg and stretches his fingers apart, hovering lightly. 

He stares intently… not at her, but at her wound. As the Force flows through him, she feels it flow through her. It’s as though, through the Force bond, she amplifies his powers and he amplifies hers.

At first, she feels nothing. Then… something.

The tissues in her leg. She feels them re-forming… mending… healing…

He still stares intently at her wound, his hand hovering above it, rebuilding her body.

Finally, once she feels whole, he brings his hand back and reaches for his glove. Rey sits up and stares at him silently as he puts it back on. He looks up at her. Their eyes lock. She stares inquisitively into those deep, black wells… and immediately she feels what he feels in that moment. He is vulnerable now. He can’t hide it. Not from her.

He doesn’t have to say it. Neither does she. They feel it together through the Force bond.

“Don’t be afraid. I feel it too,” the memory of his voice echoes in the back of her mind.

Their eyes linger on one another.

She blinks. Or maybe he does. Either way, in a moment he is gone, just as quickly as he appeared.

Rey stares blankly at the cave wall. All is silent except for the sound of her breath. For a few minutes, she sits on the damp floor in silence, staring into darkness. 

Then, she slowly rises and stands straight, facing the wall. She stoops over to grab her pouch, briefly opening it to be sure the crystal is still there.

It is.

She wraps the strap around her waist and plants her feet firmly. She draws her shoulders back and down. She gazes up at the ray of light streaming onto her face from above. Once again, she begins the climb.

It goes much more quickly this time. Rey reaches out to an indention in the wall with one hand, then the other hand, then a foot, then the other foot…

She ascends swiftly, drawing nearer and nearer to the light. As she climbs, a thousand questions race through her head…

_The Force can be used to heal?_

_Has it ever been done before?_

_Could Master Skywalker do it?_

_Could she do it?_

_Can the Force be used to stop death itself?_

_Can the Force bring someone back to life?_

She moves upwards with strength and purpose. As she mulls over these questions, she finds no settled answers. Only more questions.

As her hand grips the top of the cave wall, Rey pulls herself up into the sunlight. Relieved, she lies flat on her back, with her face turned up towards the sky. She closes her eyes, and breathes a sigh. She takes a moment to feel how good it is to be alive. To be whole.

Then she stands up and begins striding confidently onwards, taking in her surroundings, remembering where she landed the Falcon.

As she walks, the questions still reverberate in her mind. There is only one thing she knows for certain.

Healing…  that’s not an ability that derives from the Dark Side of the Force. The Dark Side draws from emotions like anger, pain, aggression, and hatred. What Ben did… that was done out of love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading chapter 1 of my story! 
> 
> Before deciding if you want to continue, I'd like to give readers a brief warning. Though I try to keep this story relatively close to Star Wars Cannon and Legends, I also take some significant liberties with the Star Wars universe for creative purposes, especially when it comes to Rey and Ben’s Force bond, certain Force abilities like healing, the Sith artifacts, Snoke’s master plan, Ben’s ulterior motives, etc. If you are a casual Star Wars fan, I don’t think I deviate so much from the universe that it will ruin the story. But if you are a diehard Star Wars fan that tends to be nitpicky, some things will probably annoy you (but hopefully not too much). 
> 
> Thanks again for reading!


	2. Delusions of Grandeur

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo Ren prepares for a delicate meeting with an old ally of Snoke's.

 

“Shhhhhh…. my Love. Don’t be afraid.”

She strokes his hair back as she cradles him in her arms. Rays of light stream through the brown tendrils of hair framing her cheeks, a thick crown of braids atop her head. Her sweet smile spreads slowly across her face.

“Close your eyes,” she commands softly. “Close your eyes and breathe.” Sitting down, she adjusts his small body in her arms so his back presses against her chest. She wraps her arms around him and rests her chin on his head.  “Breathe with me,” she coos. “Breathe with me, son.”

His panicked, uneven breathing begins to synchronize with hers, slow and steady.

“Concentrate,” she whispers in his ear. “Concentrate on what you feel.” He does. He concentrates on the warm peaceful glow pulsing gently inside of him, like a second heartbeat.

“Do you feel it?” She whispers. “Do you feel how much I love you?”

 

 

 

Kylo Ren’s eyes open. The room is pitch black. The matt hard and cold against his bare back. He hears the low, mechanical hum of the ship all around him. He blinks. Slowly, he rolls to his side and pushes himself up, his thin, grey cover falling off. The automatic lights in his quarters flicker on. He swings his feet to the floor. He rubs his face with one hand.

Leaning over, he sighs and looks up at the ceiling. He looks down. 

His mother’s voice still echoes in his head. He hasn’t dreamed of her in a very long time. Why now? Why that memory? Just as the question crosses his mind, so does the answer. He remembers the other night and his body stiffens. His jaw sets and his chin juts upwards slightly. For a second, he catches the scent of her hair beneath his nostrils.

In an instant, he stands, casting his life monitor to the side. He strides to the closet and begins dressing himself. Dagon arrives today. It’s his first visit since Snoke’s death. He must tread carefully…

Dagon is not a direct threat to his plans _per se_ … he’s not as powerful with the Force as he is. Nowhere near as powerful as Snoke was. But he is a very old worshiper of the Dark Side… ancient. Hundreds of years ancient. Old enough to have served Darth Plagueis. Old enough to have served Darth Sidious. Old enough to have witnessed his grandfather, Anakin Skywalker, become Darth Vader. Dagon is not as strong in the Force as he is, but he is strong, strong enough to be dangerous. Strong enough to merit him being on his guard… being prepared. He must conceal his intent—

For a moment, he catches a glimpse of his bare torso in the mirror and thinks of her blush. He can’t stop the corners of his mouth from turning upwards.

Quickly, he suppresses the thought and finishes dressing, marching towards the door as it opens automatically. No, Dagon cannot know his endgame. It’s not that he has the power to stop him himself. It’s the influence he could wield over the Knights… They are all still true believers, just as they were the day they left with him, Luke’s academy smoldering distantly behind them.

Back when his faith in the Force was pure… and naïve…

Kylo Ren storms through the sterile halls of the starship as though he were the only man on board. Lost in his thoughts, he brushes past cowed troopers and officers, desperate to dart out of his way.

He slows down as he reaches the command center. He walks up to General Hux and stops just behind him. His back is turned to him. He’s barking orders at a couple of operators.  

“Is everything prepared?” Kylo asks flatly, interrupting him. 

Hux jumps a little at the sound of his voice. He turns to face him, a familiar look of annoyance registering. His eyes roll upwards and his head flits in slight confusion.

“Prepared for what?”

“Lord Dagon ’s arrival.”

His eyes open wide as he registers his meaning. “Yes, everything is ready. _Of course_ it is.” Hux shoots him a look that says he resents Kylo feels the need to ask him this question in the first place.

“Good. We’ll assemble in an hour.”

“Where?” He asks, with a hint of urgency. 

“The Mercury Room.” Kylo replies curtly.

“I’ll be a little late. I’m finishing a cell of insurgents in the Belderone system.”  

“No need to worry. You’re not invited.”

Kylo turns a heel and strides away before he can see Hux’s reaction.

He has time. Time to prepare. Dagon will not be easily rebuffed.

His thick boots click swiftly on the smooth grey surface of the ship’s floor. He focuses intently on what he’s about to do. Blocking out everything around him, he scans into an elevator with tier 1 security clearance and lightly clasps his hands before him, facing directly forward as he feels himself descend.

He stands in silence for a minute. Unwanted thoughts creep around the edges of his mind. He flirts with letting them loose…

The elevator door whirs open, and Kylo bows his head as he walks out with steady, purposeful steps. He walks alone down a narrow hallway and keys in a security code into the door at the end. He enters the ship’s analog archive, barreling down the steps into a long rectangular room that, by all appearances, is completely empty with black metallic surfaces.

He walks up to a section of the wall and enters a code on a hidden keypad. Part of the wall opens, revealing a glass orb just bigger than a human hand resting on a slim silver stand. He reaches out and gently dislodges the orb. He brings it towards his face. Reluctantly, he stares into the orb’s endless darkness. It seems alive somehow. Constantly spinning, reforming, deepening…

He feels it deep in his body, just below the chest. That twist, accompanied by a sudden coldness. It’s a feeling that every sentient being in the galaxy knows.

Fear.

The Phobis Core. One of three known Sith artifacts that can grant the power to manipulate fear. But before you can manipulate it, you must know it.

Kylo breathes heavily as panic begins to spread within him. He imagines a thick black sludge coursing slowly up through his veins, emanating from the twisting knot in his core. More than anything, he wants to look away but he forces himself to keep staring into the great emptiness inside the orb.

The feeling is in his throat now. It tightens. He can hardly breathe. Only shallow, half breaths that leave him wanting.

This is no endeavor for the weak, but he was born for this, he thinks. Born and bred. Born into the light. Raised by the darkness. From the beginning, his feelings have been a sandbox for more powerful players in the galaxy. And because of their games, he’s become strong in the Force in a way no one ever thought was possible.

He can endure this.

Suddenly he goes blind. At least, it seems so. He sees nothing but blackness, pulsating all around him. It’s as if he’s inside the Phobis Core itself. The panic reaches its apex. Kylo feels the loss of gravity as he freefalls through infinity. His heart is pounding out of his chest… He keeps falling… the pounding quickens, it will fail him at any second now… He falls forever, forever on the cusp of a heart attack…

In an instant, gravity returns as he feels his two feet firmly planted below him. His breathing is fast and labored, but beginning to slow down. He stares at the orb as it begins to dull. Gradually, his body relaxes as he imagines the black sludge retreating through his veins back into the knot in his core. The knot is tight yet hangs lightly in his chest. It feels like an interloper, an unwelcome guest.

And like a loaded weapon.

He places the orb back on its stand and secures it closed with the key pad. He walks up the steps and back down the long hallway towards the elevator.

In a port nearby, Lord Dagon descends from his ship. His gait is slow and uneven. His round waist juts to one side with each step. Like Snoke, he is a humanoid but badly disfigured from years of channeling the Dark Side of the Force to unnaturally extend his life. His body is heavy yet frail.

He plops down on the automatic chair that sidles next to him. A black clad operator and a small cadre of storm troopers stand by to escort him.

Lord Dagon looks around him warily.

“It always smells like quiet desperation in here.” He rolls his eyes as they proceed.

Soon, the door the Mercury Room swings open as Lord Dagon enters. The room is huge with crimson floors and walls with a round table in the center. Lord Dagon slides into place along the table. A moment later, the door whirs open and three black clad figures enter. They each wear masks identical to Kylo Ren’s… before he destroyed his. 

“Take off those ridiculous masks,” commands Lord Dagon. “They won’t help you hide anything from me,” he snorts. 

They each reach up to remove their masks. Mei Ren takes a seat to the right of Lord Dagon, her narrow eyes calmly taking in her surroundings. Noghri Ren takes a seat to the left, tapping his sharp claws on the table as he does. Thulu Ren follows him, finding a seat next to him.

Another door whirs open as Kylo Ren enters. He strides forward without making eye contact with anyone and takes the seat directly opposite to Lord Dagon. Then, he looks up and stares him straight in the eyes. He doesn’t waste any time getting directly to the point.

“Snoke is dead but his vision is not.” Kylo’s voice is deep and confident. “We are too close to achieving it. His passing is immaterial to our success.”

“Immaterial…?”  Lord Dagon raises an eyebrow as one side of his mouth curls up slyly. “I suppose that means you believe you can take his place… _you_ … a mere boy…”

The corners of Kylo’s lips turn up in amusement. He looks down before looking back up at Dagon. “You know the power to complete this mission has nothing to do with age. It has to do with command of the Force. And I have it.”

While speaking, Kylo never breaks eye contact with Dagon.

Lord Dagon purses his lips. “You have the _ability_ with the Force,” he corrects him, “but you do not have the command of it. That was never more clear than when you let a novice force-sensitive slaughter our Supreme Leader with impunity!” He barely contains his rage as his voice rises. He leans into the table, piercing Kylo’s eyes with his own.

For the first time, Kylo can feel him try to enter his mind. Entering unwilling minds is Dagon ’s specialty. He fends him off with no small amount of effort.

Lord Dagon shakes his head and leans back. “You never completed your training.”

“So what would you suggest?” Kylo asks accusingly, cocking his head slightly. He lets the question hang thick in the air, unanswered.

Lord Dagon sighs.

“This conversation is pointless,” interjects Noghri. “Kylo has been ready for this for a long time. Snoke purposefully dragged out his training… surely you felt this… surely you felt his jealousy… and fear.”

Lord Dagon cannot deny this. Despite Snoke’s grand ambitions of reforming the Sith, he was still irreparably shaped by their twisted ideology… the rule of two… a master perpetually fearful of his apprentice’s ambitions, and an apprentice forever hungry for his master’s power. What Snoke feared more than anything was a repeat of history…

Once again, Dagon attempts to enter Kylo’s mind. Kylo’s face tightens as he glares at him and holds him at bay.

Lord Dagon stops trying for the moment and sits back.

“I invited you here as a courtesy,” says Kylo to Dagon matter-of-factly. “A recognition of your instrumental role in initiating this project… in preparing each of us for what lies ahead.” He gestures to the Knights around him. “We are thankful for your teachings.”

Lord Dagon exhales grimly. How could he be here again? How could he live so long to see the same story repeat itself over and over? To be cast aside by a deluded, arrogant, power hungry little sap… only to see him grow stronger and fail, each failure more stupendous and crushing than the last one.

He smiles wryly. “I’m so happy to have been part of your path to greatness,” he scoffs with sarcasm.

Mei’s head snaps towards him. “We wouldn’t be here without you,” she says earnestly. “Here, on the precipice of ushering in a new age of Force-wielders... a new understanding of the Force itself…”

 _What a true believer_ , Lord Dagon thinks to himself. Why couldn’t she be the one with the pedigree of Force power like this galaxy has never seen?  

He looks back to Kylo Ren.

“She’s right.” Kylo says. “We wouldn’t be here without you.”

Was that sincerity in his voice? For a third time, Lord Dagon attempts to breach Kylo’s mind and, for just a moment, breaks through… enough to be surprised to find his words match his feelings… on some level, at least. The boy has always felt beholden towards him, grateful for at least one teacher who did not actively try to humiliate him.

Lord Dagon sighs again.

“I support you,” he relents. “I support you to the end. Despite all our differences, you must know that...” He pauses, and admits with an air of defeat, “You are the only Force-capable being alive with the power to see this through. I just hope you prove a more dexterous wielder of the Force than your grandfather …”

Lord Dagon can feel the rage surge through Kylo Ren, an explosion of anger and resentment that he quickly tries to contain.

But it’s too late.

Lord Dagon has a foothold in his mind now. He pries it open adeptly and slips right in. He searches quickly. He won’t be able to stay here long.

He sees a beautiful woman, Leia in her prime, cradling a young Kylo—then Ben. He senses conflict… like he always has in this boy… but now he also senses a newfound purpose and determination… a willingness to sacrifice everything, even his own life… then, as if from nowhere, he feels it. The force of it literally knocks him back in his seat.

Lord Dagon gasps for air for a moment, and then begins to laugh…slowly at first, and then more heartily. There’s a giddy menace to it. His shoulders heave lightly as he shakes his head and brings his forehead to his palm.

“My God… you really are your grandfather’s progeny, aren’t you? Your life consumed by a forbidden love. You even love as he did… fiercely… _and obsessively_ ” he groans, rolling his eyes upward as he tilts his head back, momentarily lost in memories.  

The other Knights look at each other and Kylo uncomfortably. Kylo Ren’s jaw twitches to the side. He looks straight ahead at Dagon, avoiding all other eyes. He leans forward, waiting for his moment. He needs him to look back up at him. He needs to catch his eyes directly…

With his forehead still in his palm, Dagon says to no one in particular. “Let this be a lesson to all of you.” He looks to Mei. “This is the danger of our new path forward… _increased potential for giving into weakness.”_ He articulates each word emphatically. He looks to Thulu. “Reshaping the Force as we mean to will necessitate an ability to endure extremes like neither a Sith nor Jedi has ever endured before…” He looks warily to Kylo Ren, “And if we are to succeed, we must have a leader who can suck out all the marrow the Force has to offer, without becoming consumed by _weak_ emotions…”

Finally, Kylo grips him with his gaze and enters his mind before he can react. He reaches deep within himself, plucking the knot in his core and releasing it into Dagon.

Lord Dagon immediately grows cold. His breath begins to shorten. Suddenly, the light in the room grows too bright and he closes his eyes and buries his head in his hand, struggling for oxygen. Mei begins to get up…

“No need, no need…” Dagon waves her away as he slowly recovers his breath. “Just a chill in an old body.” He looks absently downward. For a moment, his mind is lost in thought. Then, he gulps, still struggling to breath with this newly formed knot in his throat. Suddenly, as if reminiscing about good times gone by with an intimate partner, he begins to think aloud.

“You know…” he starts sluggishly. “Your grandfather,…” He catches his breath. “Vader… the same Vader who destroyed cities and commissioned the death of countless children… the one who sewed fear every day into the hearts of all around him, breaking their will to him… is the same man who never fell asleep a night in his life without first seeing her face in his mind’s eye… Amidala. The beauty from the Naboo. He carried his love for her with him for all those years, like a secret sanctuary inside of him, somewhere he could retreat to in his mind whenever he wanted… his face hidden safely behind a mask. To Sidious’s surprise, it ended up enhancing his apprentice’s great power… but, ultimately, it was also his undoing…”

Lord Dagon’s voice trails off as he looks into nowhere, eyes brimming with the burden of centuries of memories…

Kylo Ren clicks his tongue impatiently. “We thank you for coming,” he says, barely disguising the smug, self-assured tone in his voice. “But we all have important things we must attend to.” He stands and the others follow his lead.

“Yes, yes, it was good to see you all…” Lord Dagon says absent mindedly. As Kylo passes by him, Dagon suddenly grabs his wrist and looks up at him, the fear palpable in his eyes. His eyes are wide and desperate, almost pleading… “Tell me…. at least Snoke died knowing he trained a capable leader to complete his life’s mission… a vision brewing for a thousand years, finally come to being.”

Kylo nods. Then turns to walk away.

The old man does not have long. The seed of fear is growing inside him. Soon, he will succumb to it… and will be one less thing he needs to worry about.

He stops himself from breathing a sigh of relief as strides confidently down the imperial ship’s halls. So Dagon and the others know about his attraction to Rey. Dagon can hardly fault him too much for it. He, the man who once drunkenly told him and every other Knight that they could not consider themselves true wielders of the Dark Side until they seduced at least one unwilling lover.

That advice lead to more than one Knight falling into slightly similar circumstances as the one he now finds himself in… slightly. Surely, they won’t think twice about it. After what Dagon just said, they’ll most likely interpret it as more evidence that he truly is the Chosen One… Anakin reborn, the one destined to bring balance to the Force, successfully this time. 

He is. But not in the way they think.

He walks slowly to a large window in a remote area of the command center and looks out into the dark expanse of space. Silently, Mei Ren comes to stand next to him.

“It’s the girl, isn’t it?” She finally asks. “Your forbidden love…? The force-sensitive who slayed the Supreme Leader?”

For a moment, he stands unmoving. Then he nods curtly without looking at her.

He can feel her uncertainty… and jealousy. She continues to stand silently, digesting the information.

“The one you share a Force bond with?” She asks but she already knows the answer. “That could be… useful,” she says tentatively, cocking her head.

“It already has been,” Kylo says dismissively. “It’s how I know the Resistance is in possession of the Crystal of Aantonaii.”

Mei’s eyes widen in disbelief. _“Now!?”_ She hisses. “We must retrieve it immediately!”

“We will,” Kylo Ren assures her. “We will.”

She looks at him with doubt for a moment. She almost says something, but thinks better of it when he turns to glower at her. She bows dutifully and walks away.

He turns back to the window.

This morning was a victory.

Dagon knows. About Rey. But not about his plans. And that was the more important truth to conceal.

He feels self-satisfied… but still restless. Always restless. Longing aches, eats at him interminably… he’s learned to live with it. Like a chronic injury.

The unwanted thoughts creep around the edges of his mind again… this time he allows them seep in.

She was so broken… so afraid. Sobbing on the dirty floor of a cave deep in some abandoned planet. He plays the scene over in his mind again. Her begging him to leave. Him watching her… feeling her pain, so cold and lonely and terrified of dying an inconsequential death. Sitting down next to her. Pulling her to him, almost without thinking, knowing instinctively that he could through their Force bond. Feeling her small, trembling body against him as she buried her face in his chest.

She fit perfectly. Like she was made for him.

Feeling her breath slow and even as she let herself melt into him, opening herself completely to the Force bond. She lost herself in it… content to submit to the security of a second heartbeat… to hear it thrumming reassuringly right next to her ear.

She wants so much not to be lonely, to belong to someone. He would so gladly give that to her if she’d let him.

Thinking back, he still can’t believe she let herself give in as long as she did… this girl who’s tried to kill him twice. She let herself be so vulnerable with him, as though she trusted him completely... Slender body relaxing against his, soft hair tickling his lips, his hand gently sliding down the side of her body, stopping at the curve of her hip, gripping her gently as he draws her closer…

Kylo Ren sits down and turns inwards, away from the nearby operators. Sometimes he does miss wearing a mask.

If she had only said yes. They could both have what they want right now, if not for her stubbornness and her ignorance about the true nature of the Force. But he knows she is not open to considering his perspective… not after what she’s seen him do.

Lately, he lies awake at night, imagining alternate futures where she took his hand. Infinite futures, stretching out like possibilities before him… just out of reach.

He sighs heavily. They are so close—his Knights of Ren. So close to obtaining everything they need to complete the ritual.

The weight of responsibility hangs heavy over him. He will finish what his grandfather started. He will truly bring balance to the Force…

Doubt, a familiar enemy, interrupts his thoughts. His body tightens in anger at himself. For a moment, he focuses on his rage. It helps to banish the fear.

Suddenly, he gets up and strides swiftly to the head of the command center. He has a new course to set. An artifact to retrieve.

He _will_ fulfill his destiny.

He just wishes he didn’t have to do it alone.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lord Dagon and all Knights of Ren characters are not officially Star Wars characters, but are characters I created for this story.
> 
> Specific artifacts mentioned are derived from Star Wars Legends. See Wookiepedia Phobis Core article: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Phobis_Core


	3. To be Human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey struggles to fall asleep on the Falcon in a temporary rebel base.

The Falcon is quiet. Dead quiet.

Usually, Rey can hear the hum of the ship all around her, but not now. The ship is docked and in low power mode.

Rey hunches over, curled up in a nook—her nook— with a bright, focused light streaming down on the open book before her. On one side is a course, wizened page of the Jedi text. On the other is a smooth, mostly blank page except for a few scribbles at the top. She lies back on a slight incline, her knees bent close to her chest, feet propped up. Frequently, she turns her head up to the computer above her, entering data, searching existing records… her neck is sore from looking down at the text and up at the computer, again and again… Every so often, she jots a few marks on the page to the right.

She’s translating.

It is a slow, _painfully slow_ , process…

When she took the Jedi texts from the temple in Ahch-To, she did it because she felt compelled to learn about what Master Skywalker was so reluctant to teach her. It never occurred to her that she wouldn’t be able to read most of what was in them.

Learning languages, translating between them… that’s something that has always come easily to her. But this… what she is doing now… this is something else entirely.

The texts are comprised of multiple languages, many of which have been dead for centuries. In order to piece them together, she must draw from scripts that look like they might have developed from them. But languages evolve… the few existing scripts she’s found that look like they might be ancestors of the Jedi originals have precious little in common with the marks she sees scrawled across these pages. Much of what she comes up with is pure guess work… a chilling thought considering the vital knowledge locked in these pages. What if she gets something terribly wrong? 

On top of everything, she’s working from incomplete archives. Last time she saw her, the General told Rey she would help her gain access to better, more complete archival records that might give her new scripts to work from. But she hasn’t seen the General since she gave her the Sith crystal a week ago…

The Resistance moves around a lot these days. That’s the advantage of being a much smaller outfit… mobility. They barely stay more than a week in one place. Often, one or two of them go off on an independent mission to shore up support for the Resistance or throw road blocks in the First Order’s path. But they are little more than a buzzing nuisance to the First Order’s progress…

After the death of Snoke, General Hux wasted no time in tightening his grip on the star systems under First Order control, which, after the destruction of the Republic, is the vast majority of them. If the First Order’s reign seemed brutal before…

They’ve heard rumors. Entire planets purged of all life because of the deeds of just a handful. Razed and reborn as massive First Order production centers and bases… all the more readily if the planet is home to precious natural resources.

This has made it difficult for General Leia to find new allies. Most everyone living on a planet left more or less alone by the First Order is focused on surviving, preserving their way of life by whatever means possible.

Rey can hardly blame them. She’s spent most of her life focused on survival. It does something to people… that razor-sharp focus on just remaining alive. It makes people do selfish things. Despicable things. Living in a world like this… it makes you turn inward and build a wall of distrust to protect yourself from theft, treachery, rape, and much worse.

So, no. Rey cannot feel resentment towards people for turning down the Resistance’s request to take up arms, to fight… so many of them… so many of them just want to keep the ones they love alive. Joining the resistance is a surefire way to put your family and friends in danger.  

Sometimes, she wishes Poe would understand this… that it isn’t an evil in and of itself to stand by and let evil happen… not when you’re doing so to protect the people you love. 

We can’t just expect people to give up everything, to put their family and friends at risk to join us. We have to _inspire_ them to do this.   

This is why Rey has much more faith in Finn and Rose’s mission in Cantonica than whatever the General has up her sleeve. She hasn’t told anyone this… everyone seems to be placing all of their hope on General Leia patching together an army from the broken remnants of the New Republic. But Rey has a feeling… their redemption will come swiftly… and from a source no one expects…

Rey sighs. She’s let her mind wander again. She’s not focusing. For a moment, her eyelids hang heavy as the dull ache of exhaustion creeps up on her. Perhaps it’s time to go to bed.

She reaches up to switch off the computer. She closes the Jedi text and gets up. She walks over and pulls up a trap door on the Falcon’s floors. She drops inside the empty space and reaches for a small metal box. She presses her thumb to the sensor on the latch and it opens. She tucks the Jedi text in back with the others and closes it. She crawls back up and reseals the trap door. Then she heads to the cockpit.

It’s a weird place to sleep, she knows. It’s not like the Falcon doesn’t have several proper beds. She doesn’t even have to sleep on the Falcon. She has her own quarters next to the others in this old, abandoned rebel base. But it’s strange how quickly the Falcon has come to feel like home… much more so than the AT-AT walker on Jakku ever did. She likes being here. And she likes sleeping in the cockpit. She finds it easier to fall asleep there, curled back into the command chair like it’s her throne, this place where she first discovered what she was really capable of.

Easier… but not easy.

Rey sinks back into the chair with a thick, brown cover and a pillow. Instead of putting the pillow behind her head, she hugs it close to her chest and lays back, drawing the blanket up to her neck.

She stares at the ceiling.

This is the worst part. Closing her eyes. She’s afraid of where her mind will go between then and sleep.

She knows exactly where it will go. The same place it’s gone every night since she saw him in the cave.

She hates that she can’t stop thinking about it. But in the end, she forgives herself because… the truth is… she’s never experienced anything like that before. And not just the healing.

Jakku is a planet scarce in many things… human connection chief among them.

It was typical for her to go countless months without ever feeling another being’s touch on her skin.

One time when she was about fourteen, she was at the washing bins in Niima Outpost cleaning off her finds for the day. She was struggling because she’d taken a bad fall earlier and injured her right wrist. She kept putting down what she was working on and rubbing her injury, stretching her hand gently up and down.

As a young girl living alone on Jakku, Rey had developed a sixth sense for when someone was watching her… she could feel it… someone’s gaze on her… but every time she looked up, looked around, she never caught anyone staring. Finally, Old Nan, or at least that’s what everyone called her, pulled off her gloves and got up from her washing station, gathering her things in a netted bag. She began to walk towards the line forming in front of Plutt’s desk. 

She unexpectedly stopped just as she passed Rey and dropped her bag on the table before her. Rey looked up, startled and guarded. But then she sensed the old woman meant her no harm. With both of her soft, wrinkled hands, she reached out for Rey’s injured wrist. First, she just held it up lightly, inspecting it for a moment. Then, she slid off Rey’s glove, holding her forearm with one hand. She applied gentle pressure to her wrist with her thumb in the center and two fingers on the back, first at the bottom edge of her palm, then continuing up her arm. Once she reached the center of her forearm, she began working her way back to where she started with firm but gentle squeezes. Sometimes, Rey winced in pain when she hit a sensitive spot, but she never stopped her.

When she was finished, Old Nan gently released her wrist. Rey brought it back, close to her body, rubbing it with her other hand. She looked up curiously at the old woman, stunned. Though her lips remained unmoving, Old Nan’s eyes twinkled with a kind smile. She slowly reached to retrieve her bag, then continued along her way.

Rey cried herself to sleep every night for weeks thinking back on those precious moments.

Someone had noticed her… noticed that she was in pain. That in itself practically counts as a miracle on Jakku, a harsh place where most people notice little more than what’s relevant to their own survival. But Old Nan had noticed her… and then reached out to her… through her reservations, her mistrust… and touched Rey’s skin with her own… with tenderness… with the intention to relieve her pain. Such a small gesture… but to her lonely heart, it meant everything.  

So she can forgive herself for having trouble forgetting about that day in the cave.

A tear escapes the corner of her eye and trickles slowly down her cheek.

She felt it. How much he loves her. Thinking back on it… maybe she felt it even before he healed her. Leaning back into his chest with his arms around her, that strong but peaceful feeling like a steady glow inside her.

In everything she’s read or translated from the Jedi texts, in everything Maz Kanata, Master Skywalker, or General Leia have ever told her about the Force, in every legend or fantastic story she’s ever heard about centuries past when the Jedi and Sith tore apart the galaxy with their wars, she’s never heard about anything like the Force bond she shares with Ben.

Sensing when a loved one has died, sensing when a massive influx of life or death suddenly rips through the Force… these are things she’s heard of. 

But being able to talk to another person who’s lightyears away as though they were in the same room? Being able to see their surroundings and yet not physically be there? Being able to touch them as though you both existed on the same physical plane? Being able to feel what the other is feeling as though it were your own emotion? Being able to sense the Force flowing through them and tap into their power with your own, strengthening it? 

As far as Rey can tell, this is unprecedented. And she has no idea what it means.

Sometimes it weighs heavily upon her, her ignorance about the Force, about the meaning behind everything she’s feeling… the more she learns and experiences, the more she feels like she doesn’t know.

Like last week in the cave… she had no idea the Force could be used to heal.

Nothing she’d been able to read from the Jedi texts mentioned healing. So as soon as she could, she contacted Maz Kanata. Maz told her that the Jedi could use the Force to heal… but the Sith could not. She told her that in the old days, the Jedi Order kept a small unit of Jedi healers whose mission was to spread knowledge about the role of the spirit in rebuilding the body across the galaxy. But she emphasized that Force healing is a talent that is difficult to master, and few Jedi were strong enough in the Force to apply the ability consistently. Only a handful of Jedi truly excelled at it, but those who did could perform wonders beyond belief—healing mortal wounds, even injuries to vital organs. “It takes a tremendous amount of power in the Force,” Maz had told her. “and a great deal of compassion for others.”

Rey sighs as she hugs her pillow closer to her and rests her head back into the chair with her eyes softly closed.

Compassion. Love. Protectiveness. That’s what she felt from Ben when he healed her. “A Jedi can… but a Sith cannot.”

For a moment, anger wells up inside of her, practically choking her.

Giving over to evil… to the dark side… drawing upon rage and fear to impose one’s will… these are choices. Choices we all make every day.

Ben has so much humanity in him… such a desire to give into it…

_Why does he keep making the wrong choice?_

It’s a bitter thing… to finally know what it feels like to be loved… but under circumstances she can never accept.

Rey’s eyes fly open as she sits straight up in the command chair with a short gasp. She’s not alone.

She had absolutely no warning this time.

Slowly, she turns her head to the right. He’s leaning against the command dashboard, body relaxed but eyes alert, head cocked, arms folded, looking at her inquisitively. His eyes wander around for a moment, appearing to take in the surroundings. 

He looks back at her, first at her face, then his gaze slides idly downwards over her body to the pillow and cover scattered on the floor.

“Are you sleeping here?” He asks with a hint of a disbelief.

“Yes,” Rey says a little defensively.

His eyes roll slowly upwards and around, taking in the scene once more, before meeting her gaze again. For a second, his eyebrows twinge together and the corner of his mouth turns up slightly. “Here, in the cockpit of my father’s old piece of junk ship?” He raises an eyebrow.

“Yes,” she says, a bit more emphatically this time.

He raises both eyebrows briefly, before he stands tall and clasps his gloved hands behind his back, walking past her between the two command chairs, trying to suppress a smirk.

“I’m sorry to see the Resistance is unable to provide you with a bed.”

_Is he teasing her?_

“Yes, it’s shocking that we find ourselves so short on supplies these days,” she replies sarcastically. As he walks behind her, she spins the chair around. He turns to face her. 

“How’s your leg,” he asks, looking down at her left thigh and back up at her.

“It’s fine,” she answers softly, breaking eye contact for a moment. “It’s as though nothing ever happened.”

She looks back up at him with a question in her eyes… but she can’t bring herself to ask it.

He stands straight with his shoulders resting down his back, his hands still clasped behind him… waiting for her to speak. He waits for several moments. Then, before Rey knows what’s happening, he reaches into her mind to retrieve the question.

“Huh,” he says, cocking his head slightly and walking a circular path around the cockpit.

“You want to know if I’ve ever healed anyone before.”

“Have you,” she asks.

“Yes,” he replies without looking at her.

“When…?” She asks cautiously.

“You mean was it before or after I left Luke’s academy,” he corrects her.

She shrugs her shoulders and looks directly at him, raising an eyebrow expectantly.

“Both,” he says. “Before and after.”

Rey sinks back in the command chair, taking in his answer. She looks thoughtful… and a bit confused.

Again, he probes her mind, searching her thoughts.

“Stop that!” She yells forcefully, getting up from her chair.

 He still circles the cockpit nonchalantly.

“You know,” he starts. “Maz Kanata… she is very old and very wise… but she is no Jedi. Or Sith. She doesn’t know nearly as much about the Force as she thinks she does.”

Rey stands in the middle of the cockpit, eyeing him with suspicion… but also curiosity. She gives him a look that says, “And…?”

He nods his head and continues. “The Sith can heal.”

Rey’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise.  

“Darth Bane was the first Sith Lord to use the dark side of the Force to heal. By concentrating on the pain of children slain before their father’s eyes, he was able bring himself back from the brink of death.”

“What about the ability to heal others?” Rey asks without skipping a beat.

“It’s not unheard of,” he replies. “The power of the darkness can accomplish much more than you realize,” he says with ominous undertones in his voice.

Rey shakes her head.

“But that’s not what you drew upon to heal me in the cave,” she says.

“Is that right,” he asks sardonically, stopping to fully face her.

“Yes, it is,” she says stepping forward, her eyes trained intensely on his. He can’t stop himself from flinching backwards slightly. This time, she’s the one who enters his mind.

Fear… always fear… he’s half ashamed for the way he feels about her… scared of how it could interfere with his plans… plans? 

He steps away from her quickly, shaking her from his mind like a chill.

“For having so much power, you know so little about the Force,” he scoffs, striding around the cockpit.

She bends her head slightly in partial assent. “True. But I know enough to know that you didn’t draw from the dark side of the Force to heal me. _Don’t try to lie to me, Ben._ I felt it.” 

For a moment, a look of vulnerability flashes across his eyes. Then they grow dark and harden. “You think you know about the Force… dark side… light side… things aren’t that simple,” he spits the words out with mounting frustration.

This time he’s the one to step towards her, menacingly, his eyes piercing hers. “How exactly to you think you were able to retrieve that crystal?” He asks accusingly. 

Rey stiffens. So he did know about the artifact.   

“Think about it Rey,” the words come out of his mouth forcefully.

For a minute, she’s back in the cave… back in the darkness. Her hand is hovering an inch from the wall… she’s feeling the Force run through her, she’s feeling calm and still… then she hears the screams… the children… so much pain… she loosens her hold on the artifact… fear of failure slips in… her body grows cold… she concentrates on this… the feeling turns to a fire inside her… the Force surges, at her command… the artifact bursts through the wall into her hand…

Her eyes are filled with…worry. Did she…? Even if she did, how would she know…?

“You did,” he says flatly, as though he’s answering the question in her mind. “I know because the Crystal of Aantonaii is an immensely powerful Sith artifact. Its age is unknown. Darth Sidious himself hid it away, burying it in darkness so only a like-minded Force-wielder could be able to retrieve it.” He turns slowly towards her, and raises an eyebrow knowingly.

Rey starts to breathe a little more quickly, a faint sense of panic rising.

His eyes soften a little. He steps towards her, gently this time.

“Rey, look at me.” There’s concern in his voice. He can’t take his eyes off her. 

“You have no idea what you’re dabbling in… with the artifacts… with your power in the Force…” His voice trails off as he shakes his head and looks away for a moment. Then he looks back at her abruptly.

“It will tear you apart if you’re not careful. _Trust_ _me_.” The emphasis on the last two words land like pin pricks.

She searches his eyes, entering his mind once more… what is he so afraid of?

He steps back with alarm, but can’t bring himself to look away from her.

They both eye each other wearily, an expression of distrust flickering across both their faces.

Then, in an instant, she’s standing alone in the cockpit of the Falcon once more.

She stands still for a minute, the silence deafening around her.

Rey sighs. She’ll never get any sleep now.

She stoops down to pick up her pillow and cover, then walks out of the cockpit back to the trap door in the floor. She retrieves the Jedi text she was working on before and returns to her nook, flipping on the computer.

She works throughout the night with diligence and focus. After her midnight visit, she is more determined than ever to learn everything she can about the Jedi… the Force…

She works until she hears the others clanging around outside. Then, she securely locks all of her work away and clicks open the door to the Falcon. She walks down the landing carefully, looking around her. She sees Poe to the right, crouched over BB-8 with Hala. As she walks over to them, Poe catches sight of her out of the corner of his eye and stands, turning towards her. 

As she gets closer, his smile gradually fades. He looks intently at her face and then cocks his head slightly in disbelief. “You…” he points at her accusingly. “You didn’t sleep last night, did you?”

Rey rolls her eyes in a flit of annoyance, but she doesn’t deny it.

“Rey! Again! You’ve got to be kidding me…” he spits out with frustration. 

“Seriously, you need to sleep.” He reiterates. Suddenly, she sees an idea light up his face. “That’s it. BB-8’s babysitting you tonight.”

“What!?” Rey protests.

BB-8 exclaims in beeps and whirs, “Is that really so bad?" 

“No… you know I didn’t mean it like that BB-8,” she says kneeling down briefly to adjust the droid’s antennae. When she stands up, she looks directly at Poe. “It’s just, I don’t need anyone or anything hovering over me, pressuring me to get some sleep,” she says decisively.

“Then, I’d never get any sleep,” she mutters, walking away.

“Fine,” Poe says, throwing up his hands. “Fine. I give up. But I just want you to know…”

Before he can finish his sentence, an alarm sounds.

For a moment, everyone freezes. Then, all at once, they whip into action.

The base is absolute chaos.

 

“What the hell is it!?”

“First Order command ship.”

“How the hell did it find us?”

“We’ve only been here two days!”

“BB-8! Ship! Now!”

 

Chewie cries in the distance for Rey to join him on the Falcon.

She runs towards him, stopping to pick up anything and everything around her that’s most valuable to the resistance.

Chewie cries again, this time telling her to hurry.

She jets towards him as fast as she can with her arms full, running awkwardly up the landing of the ship.

She releases her load to the floor with a crash, then runs to the cockpit. Frantically, she and Chewie gear up the Falcon for takeoff. 

As she races through the steps, a familiar feeling creeps up on her… familiar, but different.

He’s here. Not through the Force bond. _He’s actually here._

And in an instant, the realization hits her. She remembers him striding around the cockpit, eyes wandering… the ship was in low power mode, but its basic functions were running unhindered. 

He saw her location.

It was her. She led him right to us.   

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Information about Force-healing in this chapter derives from Wookiepedia: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Force_healing


	4. Capturing the Crystal of Aantonaii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo Ren and three of his knights take back the crystal from the Resistance.

The resistance fighter runs, panting, down the long white hallway. He’s moving as fast as he can, but with blaster wounds on his leg, shoulder, and hip, that’s not very fast. 

He’s slowed down by that, and the heavy metallic case he’s clutching to his chest. It’s sealed shut—he doesn’t even have the access code to it. All he knows is that it contains something the General desperately wants to keep away from the First Order. That fact alone motivates him onwards…through his pain… and fear.

As he struggles forward with a slight limp and with quick, labored breaths, he hears them behind him.

 

*click, click, click*

 

The pace of his heart quickens as he can hear sound of their thick, black boots on the pristine white floors coming gradually closer.

 

*click, click, click*

 

Three, no four, pairs of footsteps are following behind him. They are walking briskly but not running. They don’t need to. They have him, and they know it. The resistance fighter knows it too; they’re just playing with him now. Like predators with their prey…

The fighter gives a jump when he suddenly hears a loud electric crackle pierce the near silence then settle to a low, steady hum.

 

He hears another crackle.

Then another, then another.

The electric humming behind him grows louder as they get closer. 

He knows what that sound is… lightsabers.

 

He’s only seen one once before, a few years ago on Yavin 4. But he remembers it with perfect clarity… the imposing, black clad figure with a mask, the long, red blade with two tiny flames jutting out each side at the base, the steading electric hum interrupted only by the screams of his fellow fighters, his friends… how easily he deflected their blasters and cut them down with cold precision.  

The resistance fighter knows he shouldn’t but he can’t help himself. As he stumbles forward, he slows down just a moment to glance briefly behind him.

His head snaps back in front of him.

It’s him. And three others just like him. All of them in black robes and masks. 

That’s when the reality sets in.

This is the day. His last day. He will never see his wife and little girl on Corellia again. A deep longing crushes down on him. He wishes he could hold them in his arms one last time…

Kylo Ren leads the others with strong, purposeful strides. They follow behind him closely—Mei Ren, Silo Ren, and Baal Ren.

They’ve found it, finally, thanks to Silo. The Crystal of Aantonaii, Darth Sidious’s prized possession. It’s said that every dark lord since Darth Bane has channeled its power, inevitably infusing it with their own as a consequence. This one artifact contains the raw power of a hundred Sith Lords… it is absolutely essential to their mission.

It hadn’t been on Deveron. He sensed that the moment he walked off the ship. Rey must have given it to the General a few days earlier.

He had betrayed her location for nothing.

The rebel outfit on Deveron was small, so he saw no utility in chasing after them. Capturing the crystal was more important than snuffing out the lives of a handful of rebels. At least, that’s what he told the commanding officer.

Several days later, they got lucky. For the past two years, Silo has been posing as a resistance pilot, feeding the First Order valuable information about the rebellion’s plans and locations. He received intel that an important item retrieved by the Jedi girl had made its way to a tiny rebel base located in an out of the way fuel port in Bespin, on its way to a more secure location. He had to break his cover to reveal this to the other Knights, but it was worth it. Necessary. They need that crystal. 

The resistance fighter trips a little as he rushes through the automatic door onto the landing deck. The air on this planet is crisp and dry. The brown sky is dark with heavy clouds.

This is it. The rendezvous point. But no one is coming… he knows that. He saw the rebellion’s transports— _all of them_ —go up in flames just a few minutes ago.

There’s nowhere else to run.

The resistance fighter staggers to the end of the landing deck and looks over the edge. There’s another deck below… way below. It’s a long way down. Even if he did jump, it would accomplish nothing. They would simply retrieve the case from his limp, mangled body.

He takes a few desperate gasps of air before turning around.

Kylo Ren walks out onto the landing deck, directly towards the panicked fighter. His knights fan out behind him, Mei circling to his right and Silo and Baal to his left. They take their positions, blocking off the fighter from the most of the landing deck, cornering him. They stand silently, lightsabers still humming.

The fighter gulps and, for the first time, gets a good look at them. There are four, just as he thought. They are all tall and imposing, though the leader towers above the rest. He can’t tell what species they are with their masks on, but they all look humanoid.

Each of them wields a lightsaber. The leader and one of the figures to the left carry long red sabers, but the two others have something different. Their sabers are double sided with one side glowing blue and the other glowing red.

Kylo Ren stops several feet in front of the fighter.

He stands there for a few moments, what feels like a lifetime to the fighter, staring him down. Kylo can feel the dark energy of the crystal calling out to him from the case… he hears the faint sound of screaming in his head.

The fighter cowers and trembles before him… he wants to close his eyes, to turn his head down, but he is determined to die an honorable death. With effort, he tries to catch his breath, clutching the case in his arms manically and doing his best to gaze straight up into his pursuer’s masked face.  

Kylo Ren cocks his head to the side. “You’re a brave one, aren’t you?” He asks in a low, distorted voice.

Then it all happens so fast. Before the fighter even registers the action, Kylo’s arm shoots forward with his hand extended and Force-commands the case to him. It flies right out of the fighter’s arms, pulling him forward and knocking him down to his knees. With the case now in his hands, he turns around to hand it to Silo, who walks up to retrieve it. Silo then walks directly off the landing deck through the automatic doors as they close behind him. He’s taking the crystal straight to the command ship. _Now._ They’ve waited too long to get their hands on this artifact. Kylo won’t take any chances with its security.

He looks down at the fighter cowering on his knees a few paces ahead of him…

 _It’s time_ , the fighter thinks to himself. It will all be over soon.  

For a second, he thinks he’s hearing things, but then he’s not so sure. Is that… a freighter approaching…?

The Millennium Falcon descends swiftly from the thick, brown clouds and begins to slow down as it approaches the landing deck… slow down, but not stop.

As the ship glides by, a solitary form drops from the bottom of it and lands directly between Kylo Ren and the resistance fighter.

It’s Rey.   

She stands tall to face him. He towers over her, but she doesn’t look scared. She looks angry.

“You’re not taking anymore lives today.” She looks at him coldly.

It does not take much effort to read her emotions. They’re burning wild and uncontrolled.

She. Is. _Infuriated_. At him.

She feels betrayed… even, hurt? Like he broke some unspoken trust between them.

Kylo expected as much from her. He’s been relieved their Force bond hasn’t brought them together since he gave up her location on Deveron. He knew that decision wouldn’t go over well… but what did she expect him to do? She had the crystal. He wanted it. She knew that. What… was he supposed to just ignore her coordinates flashing dimly on a side panel of the Falcon?  Surely, she’s not that naïve…

Then he notices it. And when he does, he feels the pit of his stomach drop.  

She’s unarmed. Completely unarmed.

No lightsaber. No blaster. No quarterstaff. Not even a stick.

And she’s confronting him and two of his knights… his _best_ knights. _Unarmed_.

He has a bad feeling. This is not going to end well… for him.

Kylo can hear Mei and Baal approaching behind him, circling closer to Rey, lightsabers drawn.

For a moment, Kylo considers Force-knocking both Rey and the fighter off the edge to the lower deck. He’s certain she wouldn’t die from the impact… not with her power and nimble reflexes.

But before he can act, both Mei and Baal charge at her, lightsabers drawn.

Closing her eyes, Rey raises her arms on either side of her, palms extended outwards, each one facing one of the charging knights. In a second, both of them fly far back into the air, hitting the hard surface with a thud and then sliding to crash into the wall at the other end of the deck, their lightsabers clattering out of their hands.

It’s just him now. He can feel the knights clamoring to their feet far behind him, watching to see what he will do…

He’s frozen still with indecision.

She’s looking directly into his eyes, almost as she can see him through his mask. She still doesn’t look at all scared. Instead, there’s a hint of a challenge in her eyes… “Come and get me,” she seems to be saying to him.

So he does.

He twirls the lightsaber once by his side, then lunges at her. She tucks and rolls, dodging the saber and repositioning herself to the other side of him. She looks up at him, crouching, one leg extended out, one arm back and the other in front of her, fingertips lightly touching the surface of the deck. 

He brings the lightsaber down hard directly on top of her, but she leaps slightly to his left, somersaulting over his head and landing back where she started behind him.

He turns around. She’s growing more powerful…

Again, he slashes at her— one, two, three, four— with precise, powerful swings. As he advances, she dodges his blows, to the right, to the left, then the right again. As he pushes her to the edge of the deck, she tucks and rolls again to reposition herself behind him, then back flips away from him as he charges at her.

He misses again.

Mei and Baal are silently watching from the back of the deck. Kylo can feel their eyes on him.

Rey’s standing just ahead of him. She has a smug glint in her eye, as though she’s taunting him.

Kylo feels rage well up inside of him. He focuses on it as it burns hotter in his chest. For just a moment, he closes his eyes to channel it. Then he bursts forward towards her.

As much as he’s grown to hate the Force, he loves this feeling. At least in the moment. White, hot control. And power.

Rapidly twirling his lightsaber a couple of times at his side, as though he’s charging it, he aims a hard, fast swing at her core. She ducks reflexively, just in time to miss the blow though the heat of his lightsaber singes the tip of her bun.

Without skipping a beat, he raises his blade over his head and brings it down on her like a hammer.

In a panic, Rey barrels her head, her whole body, into his core, knocking him back a step, throwing off his aim. She moves to tuck and roll a to his left, but he catches her upper arm and pulls her up in front of him, clutching her tightly.

Good. She looks scared now.

In one swift motion, he raises his lightsaber overhead in preparation to strike.

She looks up at him with wide eyes.

He hesitates.

He tightens his grip as she looks at him… waiting for him to make his decision.

Then, before Kylo knows what’s happening, Rey reaches out and calls Mei Ren’s lightsaber out of her hand directly into hers, switching it on. Rey looks down at it surprised… like she’s never seen a two-sided lightsaber before.

Rey rears back, and gives a violent kick right into Kylo’s stomach, loosening his grip.

Mei snatches Baal’s lightsaber from him, switching it on and charging at Rey.

Rey catches Kylo’s next blow with one end of her lightsaber, then ducks and moves to the right before striking at him with the other side.

He deftly leans away from the blow, and moves to strike back, but Mei strikes first. She spins hard into precise hit, locking lightsabers with Rey, knocking her backwards. Rey pushes forward, fending off Mei’s saber before sliding to the side and swinging the opposite side of her weapon towards her body for a blow. She hits the side of Mei’s waist. 

Mei lets outs a small cry, then whips her saber towards Rey. Before it hits, Rey steps forward to catch her, locking the center of her lightsaber to the base of Mei’s. She thrusts forward, knocking Mei back, then delivers a strong kick to the center of her chest.

Mei flies back, landing not far behind Kylo. He walks back to help her up.

With one swift motion, Rey extends her free hand towards the two and Force-slams them back several feet. Then she turns to run towards the resistance fighter, still crouching stunned at the edge of the deck. She grabs her commlink and asks Chewie “You’re in position right?”

He baws in assent.

Right as she gets to the edge, she stoops down and grips the fighter’s arm, pulling him up and over with her.

They don’t fall far. Straight onto the Falcon hovering below. Rey pulls the fighter down with her into an opening on top of the ship. It jerks forward as it powers up, then shoots away into the clouds.

Kylo Ren stands, breathing heavily as he watches the Falcon disappear.

For a few seconds, everything is silent, even the air. Then he hears the click of Mei’s mask.

“What was that?” She asks in raging disbelief.

He removes his mask to face her, but doesn’t say anything.

“ _What was that!?”_ She repeats in an emphatic shout.

“What do you mean?” He asks, breaking eye contact.

She glares at him.

“ _You_ ,” she starts, “You were pulling your punches with that girl. And now that little scavenger piece of trash has made off with _my lightsaber_!” She’s seething.

She turns back and walks towards the deck entrance, her shoulders stiff and hunched over. She whips back around, eyes shooting like daggers into his.

“Lord Dagon was right. You are _not_ ready,“ she says shaking her head. Baal Ren walks up behind her, still in his mask. He tilts his head, not sure what he’s walked into.

“You’re letting your feelings for that girl interfere with our sacred calling, _your_ sacred responsibility. A true leader of the Knights wouldn’t sink so far into the light as to love someone. After what I just saw…” she trails off into a scoff, shaking her head. “How are supposed to lead us, the Jedi killer who can’t kill the last Jedi? You know that’s where this has end. You know that, right?”

She steps forward, looking up at him intently.

“You’re going to have to kill her.”

He looks downward, considering this for a moment. Then he turns away abruptly, walking towards the deck entrance.

Mei follows closely behind him. Baal follows her.

“You cannot walk away from that fact, Kylo,” Mei calls after him.

“If you can’t bring yourself to do your duty, to do what needs to be done, your life will mean _nothing_ , just like your grandfather’s.”

Kylo Ren’s light saber crackles to life. With several swift, violent swings, he slashes into the control center next to the landing deck entrance, destroying it in fiery bursts of red and orange.

He clicks his light saber back off.

He turns and steps towards Mei, piercing eyes dead-locked on hers.  

“You want to talk about a life meaning nothing…? My life, your life, Baal’s, Silo’s, Snoke’s, Lord Dagon’s, all of those lives will mean nothing if we don’t complete what we started, what _they_ started.”

She looks into his eyes suspiciously, attempting to probe his mind. He rebuffs her easily.

“Don’t test me. Don’t challenge me. And _don’t_ question me,” he intones coldly, calmly. “I am the Chosen One. I delivered you from the folly of the Jedi. I brought you before Snoke. I set you on this course, this precious mission that now defines your existence.”

He leans in a little closer to her. “You really ought to show more appreciation,” he says in a low, menacing tone. He looks over to Baal. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

Baal stands awkwardly for a moment, then takes a knee and bows before Kylo.

He looks back to Mei. She eyes Kylo with reservation and a hint of resentment.

“Mei,” he says softly. “We’re too close to the end to let ourselves cave in, to fall apart. I still need you. I need your loyalty. The other Knights respect you.”

Mei looks down, considering his words. Then her eyes snap back up at him.

“ _Don’t_ disappoint me. Don’t disappoint us.” Her words sound like a warning.

She bends her knee and bows with Baal. 

Kylo looks down at both of them for a moment, then turns to silently walk away from them. 

Thoughts of betrayal, distrust, and mutiny plague him for the rest of the day. They hang over him like a dark cloud.

His hold over them is loosening, he thinks as he walks to his quarters that night. They’re nowhere near as strong in the Force as he is, but they can still sense it, especially Mei… he isn’t as devoted to the cause as he once was. In truth, he isn’t devoted to it at all. He’s only devoted to his own mission, his birthright and burden as the only living descendent of Anakin Skywalker. But he can’t let them know that…

He’s so close. They have the Crystal of Aantonaii. They only lack one final Sith artifact, and two more of the others. He doesn’t have to hold them together for long. Just long enough…

His thoughts drift to the landing deck on Bespin earlier. What was she thinking, dropping in unarmed and outnumbered after the battle had already been lost? Even his father never did anything that foolhardy.

But Rey isn’t stupid.

She’s a survivor. She wouldn’t be so casual in throwing away her life.

His pace along the smooth grey floor slows as the realization hits him— _she wasn’t risking her life._

She wasn’t risking her life because she knew he wouldn’t kill her.

He begins to feel uneasy.

What if she did it on purpose, as a calculated move to undermine his position with the Knights? Revenge for betraying her location on Deveron? What if she had looked into his mind that night on the Falcon, and saw his fear… his fear that the Knights would turn on him? And then, knowing his feelings for her…

He grows more unsettled as he considers these possibilities.

This Force bond… it’s a very dangerous thing. Especially right now. He has to conceal so much from everyone around him, including people who can probe his mind, sense his weaknesses. He must conceal much more from her. And she’s getting better at getting his guard down…

Kylo stops to key in the code to his quarters. Once he enters, he clicks off his new mask and sets it on a column near the door. He sinks onto his bed and hunches over, resting his forearms on his knees and clasping his hands together. He stares into nothing, still lost in his paranoia. 

Suddenly, his thoughts halt to a dead stop. For a moment, he holds his breath without realizing it, then exhales carefully.

He’s been dreading this since Deveron.  

He turns his head to the right. She sits on his bed next to him, legs crossed, head bowed, and eyes closed. Her hands rest gently in front of her.

He senses her emotions. They aren’t at all what he expected. He doesn’t sense anger from her anymore. Just exhaustion, in her body and her mind, especially her mind. Something’s eluding her… frustrating her…

For a minute, she doesn’t even acknowledge his presence. She just sits calmly with a straight back, head bowed and eyes closed. He starts to wonder if she’s really there…

Eventually, she takes her hand and tentatively extends it to the cover on his bed. She presses down on it softly, then moves along feeling the thick, course fabric.

She looks up at him. Their lock eyes briefly. Then, she unfolds her legs and stands up. She looks around with a little wonder in her eyes. She walks forward, taking in her surroundings. She strolls around his quarters, looking at his washing station, his closet, his mask resting on the column, a few of his belongings scattered across his desk, every so often reaching out to touch something… just to see if she can.

He watches her, intensely uncomfortable. He is _extremely_ unaccustomed to this kind of invasion of his space.

Finally, she sits down on a chair next to his desk and looks at him from across the room.

“The Force-bond is growing stronger,” she says in a calm, steady tone.

He looks back at her wordless.

She turns to his desk and dislodges a writing utensil from its stand.

Suddenly he stands up, as if he’s about to march over and snatch it from her hand. But he stops himself.

She twirls it around a couple of times in her fingers.

“Months ago,” she says still twirling, absently, “I couldn’t do this through the Force bond. I couldn’t see your surroundings, touch them, interact with them. Now I can.” She looks back up at him. “And so can you.”

Silence hangs thick in the air as the implications of this new development begin to sink in for both of them.                                                                                                    

“Master Skywalker once told me the Force is an intelligence,” She continues. “It’s living, it thinks… and it’s always working towards the same goal—achieving balance.”

“I wouldn’t put too much stock into what Luke has told you.” He interjects coldly, taking a seat once more.

“Do you really believe that?” She asks looking into him. “Do you really believe he’s wrong?” She can sense that he doesn’t.

She sighs and looks away from him, curling one leg up to her chest in the chair.

“When you healed me in the cave,” she starts softly. “You didn’t do that by yourself. You channeled my power too; I felt it.” 

He doesn’t challenge her. He knows she’s right.

“Why is the Force doing this?” She asks, almost exasperated.

He doesn’t answer her. Instead he stares off in the distance, thinking.

“Why now? Why us? Is it just us?”

“As far as I know.” He says in a neutral tone, looking down.

He can feel her growing impatient with him.

“Don’t these questions ever cross your mind!?” She blurts out, frustrated.

His head snaps up. “Of course they do,” he says forcefully as he looks directly into her eyes. “But I don’t try to answer them because it’s _pointless_. The Force _is_ an intelligence… but it doesn’t care if any of us understand it. It does whatever it wants, causing chaos and destroying lives through those who wield it. It’s cold, inhuman. It doesn’t care how it achieves its goal as long as it is achieved. I’ve stopped trying to make sense of it…” 

She looks down, taking in his words thoughtfully. She begins to shake her head.

“That’s not my experience with the Force at all,” she says with conviction. “I think it seeks balance in order to make people’s lives better. And our bond is part of that… The Force is doing this for a reason. It means _something_. And we’re meant to figure it out. Together.”

He freezes. His eyes drift towards the ceiling, quickly reviewing the day’s events in his mind. He can’t help but let out a short, stifled laugh. What she just said… that’s quite possibly the last thing he ever expected to come out of her mouth.

He turns and looks at her intently. What is she up to…?

He tries to reach into her mind, but she holds him at bay, then flings him off. She’s getting better at keeping him out.

“You don’t trust me?” She asks with a slight hint of sarcasm. 

He breaks eye contact with her. Of course he doesn’t; and she doesn’t trust him. So why suggest this?

As if she senses the question in his mind, she gets up and walks over to sit next to him on his bed. Looking at him, she says with intensity, “ _I am tired_ … I am tired of being ignorant. I am tired of not knowing why this power awakened inside of me and why it’s growing. I’m tired of having _no clue_ whatsoever as to why we’re connected. I’m just tired, Ben.”

He can feel himself flinch in annoyance. He hates it when she calls him that. 

She exhales heavily, looking down. Her shoulders slump.

Then, she adjusts herself on the bed to face her body towards him, and leans in closer to his face.

His upper body stiffens as he tries to ignore her hand on his thigh.

“I need your help,” She says quietly.

“And why should I?” He replies, eyes narrowing.

“Because,” she continues. “Maybe if we can understand it, we can start to control it.” She raises a knowing eyebrow.

That’s a good point.

But this is a very bad idea. _A very bad idea_ …

What other choice is there… when neither of them can stop from invading each other’s space at random?

He looks back at her. He doesn’t say anything, but she can feel him relenting. She draws away from him, sitting back on her feet on his bed.

“Thank you.” The words barely escape before she disappears before his eyes.

He lets out a large exhale of relief. He lies back on the matt, finally allowing his mind to relax. 

He has that feeling at the pit of his stomach again, the same one he had on the landing deck today.

This is not going to end well… for him. Or her.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wookiepedia article for artifact mentioned in this chapter:  
> The Crystal of Antonaii: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Great_Crystal_of_Aantonaii


	5. Machinations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey attends the first meeting of Resistance leaders since Crait.

Rey walks a little more slowly than usual, looking about and taking in the activity all around her. She hasn’t seen this many resistance fighters in the same place since the Rebels destroyed Starkiller base. 

X-wing starfighters are lined up in rows throughout the large, gray expanse of the underground base. In between them lie loads of equipment, some tightly packed in large crates and others out and in use, strewn across the rocky floors. The room is buzzing with the noise over 150 people, at least that’s the most recent headcount she heard from Lieutenant Connix. The resistance is growing… slowly, but it is growing. This isn’t even all of them.

It feels good to hear activity all around her—laughter, shouting, excited chatter, hugs, and smiles. They all belong to a tight-knit community, and she is part of it. She’s come a long way from her solitary life on Jakku.

Since Crait, the resistance has made a point of staying divided and mobile. It’s a survival strategy, pure and simple. But for the first time since the First Order destroyed the main rebel base, General Leia has called a meeting of all high commanders, first officers, and any others involved in missions considered vital to the resistance. They’ve been on the defensive for months now… it’s time to start mounting an offense.

She’s looked forward to this day… and dreaded it. At least after the debacle on Bespin last week.

She feels a gnawing in her stomach… regret… and shame. She lets out a large sigh… how could she have been so careless? How could she let herself fail so miserably? 

After Kylo Ren gave up her location on Deveron, she had contacted General Leia immediately and begged her to let her be an escort for the crystal on its way to its final, secure destination. Leia approved. 

She still seethes thinking about it… how he used their Force bond to discover her whereabouts… and then, brought the First Order right to her doorstep. She shakes her head, baffled by her own naiveté. How could she have expected anything different? 

Luckily, she had already handed the crystal off to the General and the small cadre of resistance fighters with her on Deveron escaped unharmed.   

After that, she was determined not to let him get his hands on the artifact.

She and Chewie met up with the transport freighter carrying the crystal on one of Yavin’s moons. They followed closely to a tiny rebel outpost on Bespin. It would be less than a day before the next transport arrived.

She knows she shouldn’t have left… she knew it then, and she really knows it now. But her curiosity got the best of her… Chewie invited her to come with him to Cloud City to meet an old friend of Han Solo’s, Lando Calrissian. He hadn’t seen Lando since Han passed away. Chewie assured her Lando was an unforgettable character and would be all too happy to regale them with stories of Han’s glory days. Han… she can still picture his kind eyes. 

“What’s the harm,” she had thought, “in leaving for just an hour?”

By the time they returned, the rebel base, almost the entire port, had been destroyed by the First Order. Rey had felt her heart drop when she saw billows of black smoke coming up from the rebel transport deck… then she sensed his presence. She was too late to save the crystal, but not too late to save a man’s life. At least she did that much…

Today, she must face her failure. She must listen as General Leia tells everyone that the First Order has obtained the Crystal of Aantonaii… and they have only one more artifact left. Then… no one knows what comes next.

An ominous feeling wrenches inside of her.

The resistance… they must figure out why the Knights of Ren want those artifacts. And she’s their best shot.

A slight pang of guilt creeps up on Rey. She tries to dismiss it immediately. 

She has no reason to feel guilty. Not about this.

He used their Force bond to get what he wanted on Deveron… but two can play at that game.

She knows that he at least partially suspects this motivated last week’s request to help her understand why the Force is connecting them… the desire to probe his mind and find out what he and his Knights are up to.

But he mostly believes the reason she gave him—that she wants to understand more about the Force and why this bond exists in the first place. She knows this because she felt it. Since that day in the cave, she’s grown much better at sensing his emotions. If she just lets herself be still and calm in his presence, almost as if she’s trying to hear his heartbeat, she can let his emotions pass through her, feeling them as he does. She’s sure he can do something similar with her.

The best lies are always partial truths… Rey really would like to know more about this Force bond. Not only why it exists, but what they can do through it. Maybe things that have never been done before…

But her priority is discovering his plans for the artifacts. If she happens to learn more about the Force and their bond, that’ll be a fringe benefit.

She’s not so naïve as to think this isn’t a dangerous plan. He’s extremely powerful in the Force… and good at getting into her head. She needs to shore up her mental defenses.

In this regard, the Jedi texts have been helpful. The parts she can read have taught her a lot about Force telepathy. Just this morning, she was reviewing the section on something called “reflection.” It’s an ability one uses on another telepath. The Jedi must split her mind in two, as though she has two minds rather than one. One mind is the “front.” It projects to the detector decoy thoughts, most often thoughts that mirror what the detector wants to hear. The other mind is the called the “underside,” and conceals the Jedi’s true intentions.

This is how Ben killed Snoke in the throne room.

There it is again… that pang of guilt creeping in. She tries to shake it off.

She doesn’t understand why she keeps feeling this way. Yes, she’s grateful Ben didn’t follow his master’s orders and slaughter her in cold blood. But that doesn’t excuse him from rampaging through the galaxy, destroying lives and livelihoods just to get his hands on those artifacts… there must be a reckoning… he must be held accountable for his choices.

She has absolutely no reason to feel guilty. _None_.

 

“Rey!”

Her attention snaps to the left at the sound of her name. She looks through the crowd for a familiar face.

“Rey!”

Rose squeezes her way past a couple of pilots and runs over to her at full speed. She barely stops herself from barreling into her.

Before Rey can manage to greet her properly, she blurts out “I’m so glad I found you!” She’s still out of breath. “We need to talk.” 

“Of course!” Rey replies. “But, where’s Finn?”

“Well,” Rose starts, “That’s what we need to talk about. He’s still in Cantonica.” 

“Why?” Rey asks with concern. “He was supposed to be here today. Is ok?”

“In body, yes. In spirit… that’s another thing. But we think you can help. Listen, Rey…”

Before Rose can finish, they both hear Lieutenant Connix calling out to everyone from the control room. It’s time to begin. 

Rose’s shoulders droop with disappointment.

Rey assures her, “Don’t worry. Whatever it is, I’ll help you. Meet me at the Falcon later today.” She gestures towards her ship docked at the edge of the base.

Rose’s eyes well with hope. She gives a quick, nod and swiftly disappears into the moving crowd. 

Rey’s smile fades as she follows along behind her, more slowly. She feels uneasy. Finn, despite his desperation to run away when she first met him, has grown to become one of the most committed resistance fighters she knows. There must be something very wrong if he’s not here. 

Rey enters the large, downward sloping rotunda lost in thought. She descends the stairs to take a seat near the front, where General Leia stands with several admirals around a circular computing station, talking quietly amongst one another while occasionally gesturing towards the hologram of the galaxy hovering over the table.

The General takes a look around the room and catches Rey’s eyes. She smiles and nods, as Rey does in return.

Then, she moves towards the center, and the admirals fall evenly along the table on either side of her.

 

Leia looks out at her crowd of rebels with her signature calm, self-assurance. “Let’s start with the good news,” she begins confidently. 

“Our ranks… _have grown_.” Cheers break out across the room as she gestures to the large gathering around her with both arms.

“A few months ago, the entire resistance could fit on the Millennium Falcon. Now, Lieutenant Connix tells me we’re having problems scrounging up enough beds for everybody here. If you happen to have a spare, let us know.” She smiles. Then her face grows more serious as she takes a breath.

“We have over 600 volunteers who are openly fighting with us now… and many more who are fighting with us in secret. I know, I know… those numbers are nowhere near what they used to be. But I’ve been fighting this kind of war for a long time. And if I’ve learned one thing it’s this: when you’re facing an enemy like the First Order, one that is driven more by the desire to destroy than to create and preserve…  well, they run into the same problem every time. The intelligent life forms in this galaxy don’t have much in common, but an instinct for self-preservation is one rare exception. The First Order will push this galaxy too far with their destructive agenda, just like the Empire before them, and when they do… _the tides will turn_.” 

A rumble of low cheers and stomping feet spreads across the room.

“But we’re not there yet,” Leia admits. “And the truth is… I don’t know how long it will take us to get there. I’ve made overtures to many old friends from the remnants of the New Republic… possible allies with access to important resources that we need… but only two have accepted.”

Rey can sense a wave of disappointment hit those around her.

“People are still afraid,” Leia continues. “Terrified of the wrath the First Order would rain down upon them should they openly rebel, still hopeful that if they keep their heads down, they can keep on living their lives much as they’re used to.”

The room listens in silence. 

“ _They’re wrong_ ,” Leia intones emphatically. “And when they begin to realize that, the war will really begin.”

Rey feels the room relax a bit. To say that resistance morale has been low since Crait would be an understatement. But their ability to survive on just the faintest ray of hope continues to astound her… and inspire her.

“Until then, our goal is to prepare for greater battles ahead, build allies, and weaken the First Order. To that end… it’s time for the bad news. It turns out that one of our own pilots… a man many of you knew as Simon from Coruscant… is a member of the Knights of Ren.”

Rey hears a couple of gasps. 

“As a result, the First Order has gotten their hands on the Sith artifact that we were trying to keep from them. And, according to my sources, there is only one more artifact left for them to obtain—the Darkstaff.”

Rey hangs her head, still feeling the shame of her failure on Bespin.

“Now, we don’t know where this artifact is, but neither does the First Order. And in a moment Admiral Tyrn will share with you how we intend to find out where it is before they do…”

“Excuse me, General,” interjects Poe. “I’m all for finding this artifact so we can keep it out of the First Order’s grubby hands, but there’s a bigger issue at play here. Why do they want the artifacts in the first place? What’s the endgame here? I mean, I just found out that for two years, _two years_ , I was friends with a pilot who turned out to be a First Order spy. Where’s our spy? What’s our plan for squeezing out the First Order’s secrets?”

Leia hesitates and looks down.

“Poe, I hear you… and I agree with you. But the cold, hard truth is that it’s much easier for the First Order to infiltrate our ranks than it is for us to infiltrate theirs.” 

Admiral Kalif agrees, “Finn’s intel confirmed what we already knew from years of trying and failing to infiltrate the First Order. They have an extremely thorough vetting processes that include mind probes. We’ve learned the hard way that any attempt at espionage on the First Order ends in the death of all would-be spies. It’s just not possible…”

 

“I can get the information we need,” Rey stands up and blurts out suddenly. She feels all eyes in the room on her.

 

Poe looks at her, confused.

“Uh… Rey, that’s really brave of you, but I’m pretty sure every single high ranking member of the First Order knows your face. You’d get tagged in a heartbeat. If we’re gonna do this, it has to be someone who can slip in unnoticed…”

“I can do it,” Rey, interrupts him.

“What? Slip in unnoticed?” Poe asks incredulously. “Did you not hear what I just said?”

“No, I mean I can get the information we need,” Rey says confidently, looking him in the eye.

“And how exactly do you plan to do that?” He asks, eyebrows raised.

Rey feels everyone in the room watching her, waiting for her answer. She just stands there awkwardly, not sure what to say.

The General notices Rey’s discomfort and raises a hand. “That’s classified information, Poe.”

“Whoa… wait. You two have already talked about this?” he asks pointing at both of them.

“Yes, in a manner of speaking,” Leia replies. “And we’ll talk about it more after we adjourn today.” She looks directly at Rey. Rey nods at her, sheepishly, and sits down.

“Let’s move on to hear what Admiral Tyrn has to tell us…”

The rest of the meeting flies by. Rey hears many reasons to be hopeful and many reasons to worry. Poe is right… they need someone on the inside.

After Leia brings the gathering to a close, the resistance fighters crowd the steps of the Rotunda, hotly debating what they just heard amongst themselves. Rey stands up to join them, but the General catches her eye and beckons her to follow. Rey does, into a small computing room nearby. When she enters, the General kindly asks the two operators inside to give her a few minutes alone with Rey. They nod, and leave the room.

The General walks to a chair in the center and slowly takes a seat. She props her elbow on the table next to her and clasps her hands lightly, then looks up at Rey.

“How are you?” She asks with a smile in her eyes.

“I’m very well. Thank you, General. And if I may, please let me take this opportunity to apologize to you again for what happened in Bespin—”

Leia raises a hand. “You’ve already apologized _many_ times. It’s time for you to stop beating yourself up about it.” She leans her head towards Rey and raises her eyebrows as if to say, “do you understand?”

Rey nods slightly and looks away.

“I have something for you,” Leia says as she turns to the desk behind her and reappears with a small black pouch that she offers to Rey.

Rey takes it, unsure of what’s she’s receiving.

“What I just gave you contains all the known languages and scripts archived by the New Republic before its destruction.” 

Rey’s eyes fly open with excitement. She can barely contain her instinct to run back to the Falcon and check it out right now. With this, translating the Jedi texts will be a much, _much_ easier, and more accurate, process.

“Thank you,” Rey tells Leia sincerely. Would it be inappropriate to run forward and hug her? Probably.

Leia smiles up at Rey, “You’re very welcome. It’s my way of trying to make up for stealing your co-pilot away from you for a few weeks. It’s regrettable, but I need Chewie for an important mission to Kashyyyk.” Then she pauses as though she’s deciding whether or not she wants to bring something up. She decides. “When I spoke to Chewie today,” Leia begins again, hesitantly. “He told me that when you confronted the Knights on Bespin, you were unarmed.”

Rey tries to make eye contact with her but can’t seem to keep it.

“ _Rey_ ,” Leia’s voice is gentle but full of emotion. “I admire your bravery, but you can’t be so careless with your life. We need you. _I_ need you.” Her eyes beseech her earnestly… Rey’s not used to the General looking so vulnerable. 

“I…” Rey starts, then stops. “I’m sorry, General. But it wasn’t as dangerous as Chewie made it out to be, I’m sure. I wasn’t there to really confront them. I was just there to distract them long enough to get our fighter out of there. I knew that I could get in and get him out alive if I moved quickly,” _and I knew your son wouldn’t kill me_ , she finishes the sentence in her mind.

Leia nods, accepting her answer.

“Now… let’s talk about your offer in the meeting. You said that you can help us discover why the First Order wants these artifacts. And you know that infiltration into First Order ranks is next to impossible, especially for a face as recognizable as yours… so I can only assume you intend to do it through your Force bond with my son.”

Rey flinches a little at the sound of these last words. She’s not used to talking about the Force bond with anyone besides Ben. It feels strange, but it was inevitable the subject would come up between them again at some point. Shortly after Crait, Rey had confessed to Leia what she was experiencing. She felt especially compelled to do so when it was clear the Force bond was something much deeper than Snoke’s doing. And Ben is Leia’s son… she had a right to know.

Rey nods swiftly without saying anything.

Leia sighs and stares off into the distance for a few moments. She brings her right index finger to rest on her top lip as she thinks.

“I’m not going to pretend that we don’t desperately need this information,” Leia says forthrightly. “But… Kylo Ren is a dangerous man… and you are a very important woman, with a very special destiny. _I can feel it_.”

At this, Rey looks up at Leia curiously. Leia gives her a knowing smile, but doesn’t say anything else. Instead, she leans back in her chair and lets out another great sigh.

“When you connect through this Force bond,” Leia begins tentatively. “Can you physically touch one another?”

“Yes,” Rey replies. 

“Can you hit each other, hurt each other?”

“Technically, yes, but Ben would never hurt me.” Rey let the words escape her mouth without thinking. She immediately wishes she could take them back. 

Leia’s eyes open wide in surprise at what Rey just said… at hearing her son called by his true name… the name she gave him.

Leia leans forward closer to Rey. Her eyes narrow as she looks into her with intense curiosity. She holds her gaze for a moment, wordless. Rey wants to look away, but knows that it would be rude, and suspicious, to do so. Then, suddenly, Leia’s eyebrows shoot up in recognition, and she leans back in her chair, her hand shaking slightly, eyes swimming with turbulent emotions.

She knows.

Rey looks away from Leia, looks down. She rubs her forearms together awkwardly, then hugs her arms to her chest, bringing her shoulders to her ears. She has no idea what to say.

Leia stares absently into the distance, lost in thought for a while before she sits up abruptly with a question in her eyes. She starts to speak it… then stops. She looks away from Rey, shaking her head as if she’s admonishing herself. 

Rey doesn’t have to sense her emotions or read her mind to know what question a mother would instinctively ask about her son. 

“He’s…” Rey starts. Then sighs. “He’s not well. He’s always afraid, always paranoid… always wearing a mask, trying to conceal his emotions, suppress them… But he still thinks about you.”

For a minute, both women look down at the floor with pained expressions… disappointment… sadness… longing.

Finally, Leia stands. She looks Rey directly in the eye.

“Rey, I trust you. I trust that you know what you’re doing. I trust that you know how to take care of yourself. I trust that you’ll always do the right thing.” Leia’s voice and demeanor are back to her signature style, confident and self-composed.

For a moment, a flicker of vulnerability returns in her face. “But… _be careful_.”

Rey nods solemnly. Then turns to leave the room.

As she walks out the door, Leia sits slowly down in her chair again. She drums her fingers on the table, and looks out absently into nothing. Her eyes well with… hope.

 _After everything I’ve been through, everything I’ve seen_ , she muses to herself, _you’d think I would know better_.

But that tenacious spark of hope in Leia’s chest burns on despite all logic or rationality.

 

“No one’s ever really gone.” Luke’s words echo in her mind.

 

She closes her eyes and bows her head. She thinks about Rey… her compassion and her strength… she thinks about the Force… about Rey’s bond with her son… and her heart overflows with gratitude.

He loves someone. That fact alone means he’s not really gone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wookiepedia article for artifacts mentioned in this chapter:  
> The Crystal of Antonaii: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Great_Crystal_of_Aantonaii  
> The Darkstaff: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Darkstaff


	6. Supreme Leader

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo Ren gets one step closer to collecting the artifacts he needs to move forward with his plans.

 

The First Order officer hovers just over a foot above the ground. His hands are at his neck, grasping wildly for fingers he can feel clenched tightly around his throat… and yet, nothing is there.

He’s gasping for air, but to no avail. Not even the smallest inhale can make it past those clenched fingers. His heart is racing, his lungs feel like they’re about to explode… he begins to feel a dull pounding in his head. Black dots blur his vision as his eyes roll to the ceiling. 

In an instant, he crashes to the floor. He cries out as a sharp pain blasts through his knee cap up into his thigh. He inhales greedily with fast, short bursts, as he shifts his weight to the left, palms pushing him from the floor. He tries to stand up, awkwardly, but there’s nothing around to steady himself with and his knee is still throbbing, so he remains half kneeling on the floor.

“I’ve waited three years for another lead on the location of the Darkstaff,” Kylo Ren says evenly. “So you can understand my disappointment upon hearing your report.”

“I understand… Supreme Leader,” The officer manages to say between gulps of air.

“How much did the Lorridian take with him?”

“The explosion destroyed the abode’s structure, but there is much debris to be sorted through. It’s possible we could recover something useful—”

“Doubtful.” Kylo Ren interrupts him sharply.

He’s not even facing the officer now. He’s glowering out the external observation portal’s expansive window, hands clasped tightly behind his back. This was not the way he expected to end his day.

The officer looks down and tries to gather his composure.

Kylo turns his head towards him slightly.

“Why are you still here?” He asks in a low, agitated tone. 

The officer scrambles to his feet and hobbles away.

Kylo seethes.  

This was not a complicated assignment. Find the Lorridian. Take him into First Order custody. Bring him to the command ship. He couldn’t send any of his knights this time. The Force-sensitive Lorridian would have sensed them coming before their ship even touched the ground. In hindsight, perhaps that was the better option over entrusting General Hux’s men with anything of importance.

Suddenly, he senses Silo walk up from behind. And with him, he senses something else… _good news_.  

He turns a heel to face him. Silo’s face glows with satisfaction as he holds out a small black case with both hands. He slides his thumb to the side and clicks the case open. Kylo’s heart quickens.

 _The Eye of the Sun_.

A small rock that could fit inside his palm is nestled in a dark cushion. At first it looks unremarkable—just a round, grey stone. Then it begins to change… the grey deepens into a thick silver and then, as though rays of light are emanating from within, the stone lightens into a golden amber. It glows steadily, with muted streams of light that seem to move in a circular motion, lighting up Kylo’s face.

He takes off a glove and reaches out to touch it, very carefully, with just the tip of his middle and index fingers.

It feels warm to the touch. The streaming rays of light seem to enter his body, first at the fingertips then slowly up his arm to his heart. He feels his heartbeat slow…but he does not feel alarm. He feels a warm calm begin to overtake him as his heart continues to slow, his breath stops, and his blood feels stagnant in his veins. He stands meditating in perfect stillness.

Kylo snaps his hand away from the stone, and feels his heartbeat, his body, return to normal. He takes a sharp inhale and looks up at Silo. Their eyes meet, and the two men share a moment of genuine victory. 

His knights do have a knack for getting the job done right.

Backing away and pulling his glove back on, Kylo gives a slight nod towards Silo. He understands the gesture immediately and snaps the case shut.

“This makes five,” Silo says, his excitement palpable. “Five of the most powerful Jedi artifacts known to exist. And five of the most powerful Sith artifacts to match. We just need the Darkstaff—”

“And the Jedi texts,” Kylo reminds him before he gets too excited. “Noghri and Veda’s findings on Ahch-To are not encouraging. I’m beginning to think Luke hid them somewhere else. The hardest part is still ahead.”

Silo’s face becomes more neutral as he nods. “What happened with the Lorridian?”

“Don’t ask.” Kylo barks in response. Then his shoulders soften.

 “Hux’s imbeciles are searching the wreckage of the Lorridian’s home now.” Kylo’s head gestures towards the door. “Why don’t you join them and see if you can wrench something useful out of their colossal failure?”

Silo bows dutifully, but before he leaves, he steps closer to Kylo and leans his face near to his. 

“I’m ready, Master— _Supreme Leader_ ,” he corrects himself. “I’m ready to experience the Force as it was intended, to channel both the Dark and the Light, as you do.”

Kylo endeavors to maintain his composure, to conceal his contempt.

“I know you are,” he replies quietly. Then turns away to resume gazing out the window.

He hears Silo’s footsteps die away as he briskly leaves the room.

 _He has no idea what he wishes for_ , Kylo thinks to himself. He’s lived Snoke’s vision, like his grandfather before him. And it’s not the utopia of power and control his knights imagine.

His grandfather… conceived by the Force itself. In possession the highest midi-chlorian count ever recorded. The Chosen One. For centuries, the Jedi claimed that once one started down the Dark path, forever would it dominate your destiny. They were wrong. His grandfather proved that the day of the Battle of Endor, the day the Empire collapsed. His stunning and unexpected return to the Light…

What most don’t know… what Sidious knew… what Snoke knew… what Dagon knew… is that Anakin never fully surrendered to the darkness. He kept the Light inside of him, buried for all those years, drawing upon it whenever he wished. A true dual-wielder of the Force. The first. 

Kylo can still hear Snoke’s raspy, imperious voice in his head— “Why place your power in shackles? Why limit what you can accomplish through the Force?” He disagreed with the Sith Lords. He didn’t believe in the purity of the Dark Side… he only believed in power. And to him, it was ridiculous to limit the power one could draw upon from the Force. Sure, the Dark Side was by far the more powerful aspect, but the Light was certainly not without valuable enhancements… in healing, empathy, heightened senses, stealth, protection. As long as one could practice these skills without falling into the worst excesses of the Light— compassion, love, sentiment—the Light Side could be harnessed without much deleterious effect. Gaining strength from calm, pursuing greater wisdom… these things grant abilities through the Force that anger and pain cannot.

But no Jedi or Sith has ever been powerful enough to draw from both aspects of the Force at once. At least, not until his grandfather. And him.

When he was born, Snoke saw a golden opportunity before him, one that would never come again. A boy with Anakin’s power… the potential to wield both the Dark and the Light… but also young and vulnerable… a blank slate for him to write upon. 

Kylo remembers Snoke in his dreams, almost even before he has memories. He was just a dark figure hiding in the corner of his mind, a whisper in his ear… and as Leia and Luke nurtured the Light in him, so Snoke nurtured the darkness.

It granted him power, yes. Unimaginable power. But also pain. Unspeakable pain. Like the core of a reactor suspended mid-explosion, hanging heavy in his soul, pulling him apart at the seams. Perpetual conflict becomes a natural state. The pull from one side to the other always growing more extreme… Snoke feared that his vision would fall to pieces if Kylo drifted too far into the Light… far enough to repeat his grandfather’s failure, giving over to sentiment.

The best way to avoid a repeat of the past was to kill it, and usher in a new age of the Force, one where there would be no Jedi or Sith. No Light Side or Dark Side. Only the Force, or at least the parts of it Snoke found useful. Wipe the Jedi clean from the galaxy’s memory. Reform the Sith. Create an elite team of dual wielders—the Knights of Ren—to bring this vision into being, to usher in an age where the only understanding of the Force is the one Snoke designed.

But only Kylo Ren is powerful enough to command both aspects of the Force. For the other knights to join him, they would need help, a cache of incredible power to draw from.

The artifacts. Each imbued with centuries of power from their respective aspect, Jedi or Sith. Snoke believed it was possible to gather the most powerful Force artifacts in the galaxy… and to merge them… six Sith and six Jedi artifacts… infused into six crystals that would contain the power of both… six crystals for six knights.

_If they only knew._

If the knights only knew what this new ability would bring them, they would not be so eager to perform the ritual. They will all become victims of the Force’s turbulence… its corruption… more so than they already are.

His thoughts drift to Rey… how she obtained the Crystal of Aantonaii… by channeling Dark energy. He shakes his head.

If she continues along this path, she will become a twisted remnant of her former self.

_But he’s not going to let that happen._

A familiar feeling creeps upon him. He stiffens, instinctively. He needs to clear his mind.

It still startles him every time. One second, he’s alone, lost in his thoughts. The next, he can sense her presence.

She’s standing beside him, much as he is— hands clasped behind her, shoulders resting down her back. It’s almost as though she was expecting him.

She turns her head and looks up at him with calm self-possession. Then she looks around the room… it’s empty. People tend to avoid this room when he’s here, if they can help it. 

For a minute, she gazes out at the window with him.

“So this is what the Supreme Leader does with his time,” she says finally. “Tough job.”

 He narrows his eyes at her. “It’s a tad more complicated than it appears,” he says sardonically. 

“Really?” she replies. “Because right now it appears like you just stand around waiting for underlings to report to you.”

His eyes darken. He doesn’t have to take this.

Abruptly, he turns a heel and walks out of the room. He’s never left during their Force connection before. He can only assume that she’ll just disappear.

 

He strides briskly through the hallways of the First Order command ship, sidestepping MSE droids wandering blindly along their routes. The First Order officer who delivered the report from earlier catches his eye and walks over to him with a slight hobble.

“Supreme Leader, I’m so happy to report that we may have recovered something useful from the wreckage of the Lorridian’s home. Scribblings that mention the Darkstaff— 

Suddenly, a cold panic washes over Kylo Ren.

He had assumed incorrectly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Rey listening, enraptured in their conversation.

“—several possible locations it could be, including—“ 

“ _Stop_!” Roars Kylo, his hand extending out towards the officer.

Suddenly, the man can’t speak, or move. He can barely breathe. _Please_ , the thinks, _not this again…_

A moment later, Kylo releases his hold on the man, who breathes a sigh of relief. The officer doesn’t seem to perceive Rey standing near him at all.

“We’ll discuss this later.” the words escape his mouth as a low hiss. He turns quickly and grabs Rey’s upper arm, pulling her back in front of him. He grips both of her arms as he pushes her forward, back to the empty observation portal.

“ _Easy!”_ She complains, but doesn’t put up much of a fight.

After the automatic door closes behind them, he releases her and takes a few steps forward, bringing his palm to his eyes for a moment then letting it drop over his face to his chin. He turns to look at Rey. She has a strange look in her eyes—both pleased and shocked.

She can’t contain her smile. “This is incredible. _It’s insane_. It’s like every time it grows just a little bit stronger. Here! I have an idea.” She looks down at her clothing for a second, then rips a button from a pocket in her pants.

“Here you go.” She extends an open palm towards him with the button. “Take this.” She looks down at the button and then up at him again. “ _Go on._ Take it.”

Cautiously, he reaches out. She turns her palm and lets the button slide into his gloved hand.

“Now, you give me something,” she commands.

“What?” He looks at her suspiciously. 

“ _Anything._ It’s a test. To see if we can exchange physical objects through the bond. _Come on._ It doesn’t have to be big. It can be something small.” 

He considers this for a moment, then slips off a glove and hands it to her. She reaches out to take it, then folds it and slips it into a pocket.

He turns towards the window again. A minute passes.

“What were you thinking of just before?” she asks suddenly.

“Before what?” he replies.

“Before I appeared here,” she gestures around her.

“I can’t remember.”

She eyes him doubtfully. “Maybe there’s a pattern, something that triggers the Force bond, something in our heads…” she trails off.

“Perhaps it’s whenever we think of each other?” He suggests.

She immediately shakes her head. “No. Definitely no. Not possible.”  

“You think about me that much, do you?” He can’t stop the corner of his mouth from turning up as he glances over at her.

She blushes. “ _No_. That’s not what I meant.”

He lets out a grunt. That’s exactly what she meant. He can sense her lies as clear as day. Which means she can sense his too… he begins to stiffen.

“I think we need to institute a rule,” he begins, “to stay out of one another’s heads.” He turns his body to face her.

She turns to face him as well, looking up at him incredulously. “ _Really_? What a wonderful idea. I could swear I suggested a similar rule the first time we met at Starkiller base.”

He remembers that day for a moment… the first time he looked into her mind and saw something very familiar. Something very relatable.

“It doesn’t matter who comes up with the rule as long as we both respect it.”

“I don’t think I can,” Rey replies.

“Why not?’ He demands, eyebrows knitting together.

“Because… I don’t think you can either. I think… I think the line between telepathy and empathy is beginning to blur, for us at least,” she says.

She continues, “When I’m standing near others, I can sense their emotions—disappointment, anger, sadness. Emotions, but not thoughts. Not unless I consciously try to enter their minds. But with you, I sense emotions and more… specific things. Questions. Reservations. Fears. Not anything deep, but thoughts just on the surface of your consciousness. I think I can’t help but read your mind.”

And he can’t help but read hers. Like right now… Apprehension, she’s worried about what he might sense in her… Compassion, for him, for living a life consumed by fear…, Guilt, for what she knows she has to do.

He looks at her sharply. She breaks eye contact and turns, taking a few steps back. His eyes follow her, warily…

“Ben,” 

“Don’t call me that,” he snaps without thinking.

Rey sighs. “You said something to me on the Falcon a few weeks ago. You said the Force would tear me apart if I’m not careful. What did you mean by that?” 

He takes a deep breath, trying to quiet his mind. He remembers the way they Eye of the Sun felt when he touched it… then a gentle stillness overtakes his body.

“I meant that you need to stay away from the artifacts. They’re powerful and they’re dangerous, especially for a novice in the Force. A few are even sentient… they will control your mind if you’re not careful. _Or worse_. Like the Darkstaff. _Don’t_ try to go after it, Rey.”

“That advice is awfully convenient for you,” she responds.

They stand silently for a few moments.

Then, tentatively, she asks, “How… how do you know?" 

“Know what?”

She hesitates. She can’t bring herself to say it.

He senses her question. It slips right from her consciousness into his.

“How do you know when you’re channeling the Dark Side of the Force?” he finishes for her.

She looks up at him with a guarded expression.

“You know it by the emotion and by the way your body feels. The Dark Side draws upon hatred, anger, fear, pain… so it tends to burn hot, like a fire in your belly—agitating, gnawing, a perpetual torment— but not uncontrollable, not if you channel it correctly. That’s the hard part. It’s easy to tap into, but it’s much more difficult to control.”  

“And the Light?” She asks.

He eyes her warily. “You already know the answer to that question.”

Why did she ask him that? Why is she asking these questions? What is she looking for?

He can’t stop the pang of fear that quickly rushes upon him. He turns away from the window and walks to the door, trying to quiet his mind once more. _This is too dangerous_.

But he can’t leave. Not until she’s gone. He turns towards her again.

She’s still gazing out the window, her hands now on the glass.

“I don’t know how you do it,” she says softly.

“Do what?” he asks, repressing a hint of alarm.

“Live your life behind a mask,” she turns towards him. “Always hiding something from everyone around you, secret plans, intentions, instincts, so-called weak emotions.” She takes a few steps towards him, looking up at him intensely. “Aren’t you tired?”  

The question catches him off guard. 

She senses his answer wash over her. An emphatic yes.

 _Pity_ … he feels it emanating from her. He doesn’t need that. Or want it.

He turns to walk away again but, impulsively, she reaches out to take his ungloved hand.

He looks down at her with surprise. She keeps a steady gaze as she gently pulls him closer to her. There’s much more than pity in her eyes.

The memory is right on the edge of her consciousness. He picks it up easily.

 

_You’re not alone_

_Neither are you_

 

She squeezes his hand. He lifts his other hand and brushes a tendril of hair back from her face. He lets it linger, his thumb at her cheek, before sliding slowly down her face. His hand rests on her shoulder, thumb tracing the curve of her jaw, fingers curled behind her neck. He leans down… and rests his forehead on top of her head. They both close their eyes and breathe peacefully.

They stand together just like this. As they do, everything seems to melt away… time, their mutual suspicion, their fears and doubts… everything except for the compassion they feel for one another.

Then the warmth of her body disappears, as if she dissolved into a mist.

He opens his eyes. The room is empty and quiet. He takes a deep breath, walking towards the window… longing weighing heavily inside him. He looks down at his ungloved hand for a moment… then turns to exit.

He walks briskly towards his quarters to retrieve another glove. Then he’ll see what the officer has to tell him about the remains of the Lorridian’s home. 

If they can obtain the Darkstaff… then only the Jedi texts will remain.

Suddenly, he remembers something.

He reaches into his pocket, searching, then finds it. He pulls his hand out and looks down.

Rey’s button rests in the middle of his palm.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter deviates from the Star Wars cannon universe. As far as I know, the idea that Anakin was the first person to draw from both the Light and the Dark aspect of the Force at once (or even did so at all) is not recognized as cannon.
> 
> Also, my story does not recognize the existence of the Grey Jedi. In Star Wars cannon, the Grey Jedi were Force wielders who drew from both the Light and the Dark aspect without completely falling into darkness. But there are a lot of other Reylo fanfics out there that recognize and explore the Grey Jedi so be sure to check those out!
> 
> Let me know in the comments if you have any questions/concerns.
> 
> Though I take some liberties on the effects of the artifacts, all artifacts mentioned in this chapter are part of Star Wars Legends. Here are Wookiepedia articles for the artifacts mentioned in this chapter:  
> The Darkstaff: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Darkstaff  
> The Eye of the Sun: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Eye_of_the_Sun


	7. The Spark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey visits Finn and Rose on Canto Bight to help them free a Force-sensitive slave child.

Streams of bluish-white light fly by her, seemingly through her. There’s almost too much brightness for her eyes to take in at once, but she doesn’t dare close them. She loves this… the way the shining bursts of light seem to create patterns before her, forming and then un-forming just as quickly.

In an instant, the beauty of hyperspace is gone, replaced by dim twinkles in the great blackness and her destination looming ahead. A large brown planet, its mostly light, ruddy colors occasionally deepening into chestnut… Cantonica. 

A desert planet, not dissimilar from Jakku. The difference being, of course, that Jakku is not home to one of the most luxurious casinos in the galaxy.

Canto Bight.

Finn and Rose have been on this planet for months now. They designed their own mission. General Leia simply gave her approval. Something about this place changed Finn… after Crait, she heard the story. They had only been on the planet for a few hours looking for some master codebreaker, but it had been quite an adventure. Got arrested. Broke free. Escaped with a herd of fathiers, riding one of them (she was jealous of that one). But something else had happened too… something between the lines. 

Finn and Rose were adamant about returning. “For every rich high roller visiting the planet there are ten slaves trapped there for life,” Finn had told the General. “You say the galaxy needs hope, that hope is how we’ll take down the First Order… well this place needs hope most of all.” Their plan was simple. Quietly minister to the slaves on the planet… make sure they have access to basic necessities, provide medical care when their masters would not, talk to them, get to know them, organize them.

The report Rose gave to Resistance leaders a couple weeks ago had been glowing and confident. They had managed to help many slaves escape and establish hidden villages for them in desert. But they weren’t just hiding out… they were planning. Rose assured the General that a slave rebellion on the planet was brewing… and if it came to fruition, then the planet could soon serve as an important base of operations for the Resistance.

To Rey, Rose had revealed something else. Finn had befriended a boy, a very special boy. Rose told her the boy demonstrated incredible Force abilities. Once, when Finn was injured trying to help a slave escape the casino, the boy had run up to him… and healed him completely.

A boy. With no knowledge of the Jedi other than legends and stories. A nobody, just like her. A nobody who performed a Force ability Maz told her is one of the most difficult to master, an ability Rey has yet to learn herself. 

Rose was very clear. Rey must come to Cantonica and meet this boy, and not only because Finn can’t seem to free him from his master. Though that’s a pressing reason as well. According to Rose, Finn refuses to leave the planet until the boy is free. He’s developed a bond with him. Rose tells her he thinks of the boy as a brother, perhaps even a son.

She couldn’t come immediately. The General needed her help searching for the Darkstaff. Not that they are any closer to finding it. What little information she’d been able to skim through the Force bond lead to nowhere… a Lorridian in Corellia, a self-inflicted explosion that destroyed him and his home. By the time they got there, the First Order had taken everything worth taking.

Spying for the Resistance through the Force bond had proven more difficult than she anticipated. Last time, he was determined to keep her out of his head. She couldn’t pierce past the surface of his consciousness, those half thoughts and emotions that quickly come and go in the moment. What little she had picked up made no sense… an amber stone like a small sun, six crystals, the Darkstaff as a living thing, fear of her involvement, dual wielding?

Not that their meeting had been completely useless. She discovered new abilities through the bond. The ability to roam his location without him next to her. The ability to exchange physical objects. His glove is still laying on a table in the Falcon’s lounge. She keeps meaning to tuck it away… somewhere out of sight.

Rey sighs. She doesn’t want to think about him right now. She’s tired of thinking about him. Him and his secret plans. This mission is a welcome distraction.   

The Falcon slows as it descends from the clouds over the jagged, rocky surface of the planet. It’s not far… she’s nearing the coordinates Rose gave her. Just on the outskirts of Canto Bight. There it is… a couple of ships and makeshift hovels arranged in a circle. She finds an open spot to land. 

As the Falcon’s ramp lowers, Rey descends slowly, looking around her for signs of Finn and Rose. A couple of locals kneeling over a wash bin eye her warily then turn their attention back to their work. A spattering others—humans and non-humans—scurry about the circle, focused on their business. There is very little said between them. It’s eerily quiet… no one seems to really notice her presence.   

Out of nowhere, she feels a hand grip hers and jerk her forward.

“Finn!” He’s pulling her along at a near run. He barely takes the time to look back at her.

“Great to see you, Rey!” He says breathlessly.

He’s rushing her towards one of the ships. For a second, it feels like they’re back on Jakku, when they first met, him squeezing her hand and jerking her along.

“Finn, _slow down_ … What’s the hurry?”

“Sorry, Rey, but we don’t have much time,” he explains as he pulls her up the ramp of the ship. He leads her swiftly to a chair with its back facing a washing basin. He practically pushes her onto it.

“I’m _so_ glad you’re here.” He says with a hint of urgency and relief, crouching down and finally taking the time to look her in the eyes. It doesn’t last long. He quickly begins scanning her body, like he’s a droid analyzing her vitals.

Suddenly, Rose emerges as an automatic door whirs open. She runs over to Rey and gives her a tight hug and an “it’s so good to see you!” before she begins yanking at her hair, pulling out her buns.

“ _Hey_!” Rey protests. “What are you doing? What’s going on?”

“When’s the last time you had a bath?” Finn looks up at her.

“Yesterday, I think… why does that matter?” Rey asks with confusion. 

“She smells fine to me,” says Rose, tilting Rey’s head back over the washing basin, pouring water over her hair.

“Whoa… wait. Can one of you please explain to me what’s going on?”

“Don’t worry, Rey,” Finn gives her a cursory look as he fumbles through a small pouch. “Rose is going to do your hair…”

“What?”

“I’m going to do your make-up…" 

“ _What_!?”

“And I’m going to need you to put on this dress.”

As Rose applies some sort of serum and begins vigorously scratching her head, Rey catches sight of the billowing red fabric Finn is holding in the corner of her eye.

“That’s not a dress. That’s a slip.” She says flatly. Suddenly Rose jerks her head back a bit, lathering furiously.

“ _It’s a dress_!” Finn assures her. “It’s what all the fancy tourist ladies wear around here.”

“And why do I need to dress like a fancy tourist lady?” Rey asks, trying to fight Rose and crane her neck upwards to look at Finn. Rose jerks her head back down and starts to rinse.

“Because,” Finn begins as he scrubs her face with a washcloth, “Master Kayvon is leaving today, I mean _really_ leaving. For good.”  

“It’s the slave rebellion,” Rose says with pride, looking up briefly from her work. “The top dogs in this town are tucking tail and running before things boil over. Everyone can feel it’s about to happen.”

“Who’s Master Kayvon?” Rey’s starting to get delirious with everything that’s going on around her.

“ _Jian’s owner_ ,” Finn says with exasperation, as if she should already know.

“Jian’s the boy I told you about,” Rose explains, as she begins toweling her hair dry.

“This guy… Kayvon… he’s a real piece of work,” Finn tells Rey as he rubs some cool white cream on her face. “Seriously, I’ve been trying to buy Jian for months. _Months_. But that wrinkly pile of flesh refuses to sell him to me. _Absolutely refuses_.”

Now he’s rubbing some waxy substance on her lips.

“And what kills me,” he continues, “is that no matter who I send over to buy Jian, he knows it’s me! He has some random grudge against me…”

“Random!?” Rose snorts as she interrupts.

Finn rolls his eyes and shakes his head in slight acknowledgement. “Ok, maybe it’s not so random… but he just won’t let that go! This is Jian’s life we’re talking about! Over some stupid lost fathiers! Besides, he doesn’t deserve to own any animals if he’s going to abuse them like he does.”

Rose is brushing Rey’s hair now, brushing it back into one tight bun atop her head. 

“Close your eyes,” Finn commands. He starts brushing something over her eyelids.

“This is why I need you, Rey,” Finn starts again. “Nobody knows you here. Nobody’s seen you with me. Kayvon will just think you’re one of the high rollers passing through for a visit.” She can feel Finn rubbing something just under her eyebrows.

“Ok, open your eyes.” Finn comes at her right eye with some sort of stick. She winces and pulls back. “It’s eyeliner, Rey! Not a weapon!” Finn exclaims.

“So, we were kinda hoping you might use one of your Jedi mind tricks to convince Kayvon to sell him to you,” Rose tells Rey.

“Yeah,” Finn agrees, “and if that doesn’t work…” he suddenly pulls back and looks Rey dead in the eyes. “You’re going to have to use your feminine wiles.”

Rey looks back at him incredulously. “ _But I don’t have wiles_!”

“Oh sure you do, Rey,” Finn says dismissively. “All you have to do is put on this dress and these shoes.” He drops a pair of leather, black boots with a slight shimmer and a floral pattern etched along each side.

Finn finally stands up and back to look at her. Rose joins him.

“Perfect. She’s perfect,” they both say, looking at each other and nodding in approval.  

“Alright,” Finn says, handing the dress to her. “Just put this on really quickly and meet us outside.” Both he and Rose rush out of the ship before she can reply.

For a moment, Rey sits in silence, dumbfounded. Then she turns to look in the mirror behind her. Her lips are red and there is a slight shadow over her eyes. Her hair looks darker and thicker somehow, pulled up into a glossy bun.  Strange…

She looks down at the dress, then holds it up in front of her to get a better look at it. She rolls her eyes. This thing has no sleeves _whatsoever_. How is it supposed to stay up? 

“Hurry!” She hears Finn’s voice call urgently from outside the ship. 

Rey gives a great sigh. Then she begins to undress.

A few minutes later, she descends the ship’s ramp. The dress is tight along her torso and begins to flow just at her hips all the way down to her ankles. There’s a slit on the right side that reaches more than halfway up her thigh. She tugs at the dress to try to close the opening, to no avail. 

She follows briskly behind Finn and Rose as they lead her towards the city. She suppresses the urge to hold her hands over her chest to cover the top of her breasts peaking out over the dress.  Couldn’t Finn have found something more conservative…?

She crouches next to them as they hide behind a large boulder. 

“There,” Finn points forward towards a large deck with several tall columns aligning it. A few casino patrons stroll languidly along, chattering aimlessly. “Right down that long hallway.” Finn points. “That’s where you’ll find Kayvon.”

He adjusts his crouched body to face her. He hands her a small purse, heavy with coins. “Ok, here’s the plan. Stroll in there almost like you’re lost. Then strike up a conversation. He _loves_ talking to pretty girls, so that part won’t be hard. Tell him you just arrived, but your servants have been delayed and you have no one unload your ship, clean your clothes, etc. Then ask him if he has any scampers available for purchase.” 

“Scampers?” Rey inquires. 

“Yeah, that’s what they call the slave kids here,” Finn says with contempt in his voice. “He has three. Ask for all of them. If you just ask for Jian, he’ll be suspicious. You got it?”

Rey nods a bit nervously. She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. Then, she stands tall and begins walking towards the deck.

She quickly surveys her surroundings, particularly focusing on the women she sees. She tries to affect their mannerisms—shoulders resting lightly back, nose imperiously half-lifted in the air, exaggerating the swing of her hips as she walks.

She begins to walk down the long, stone hallway, through rows of columns decorated with floral vines wrapped around them. She walks slowly, casually… as though she just taking a stroll. Inside, her heart is beating much faster than normal. But outside, she looks calm and composed, neck straight and regal.

She wanders through a large arch at the end of the hallway. She hears a low, raspy voice barking orders. “No, not that one, you fool! Get the other one! Bring it to me!”

As she turns the corner, she finds herself face to face with a creature that looks astonishingly like Unkar Plutt back on Jakku. A Crolute with thick layers of skin hanging from his arms and chin, Kayvon turns towards the unexpected intruder, purple robes swaying around his ankles.

He eyes Rey with appreciation. “Welcome, my lovely guest. How can I help you?”  

Rey endeavors to keep her composure, to look casual, bored even.

“Oh… my apologies,” she says softly. She turns to leave.

“ _My dear_ … but you just got here!” Kayvon strides towards her, one hand extending out. “Please, may I offer you something to drink?”

Rey pretends to consider his offer for a moment. Then she shrugs her shoulders slightly. “I suppose there’s no harm in a drink.”

Kayvon grins, revealing a set of crooked, half rotten teeth. Luckily, Rey has much practice at concealing disgust from leering Crolutes. She smiles back at him, taking his hand. He leads her to a large chair with a plush cushion. As she sits, she fights the urge to tug at her dress and close the slit on the right side. Kayvon does not bother to hide his ogling, eyes lingering on her chest then sliding down to her bare leg. Rey suppresses an eyeroll.

She looks around her. “It looks like you won’t be here for long,” she gestures to the crates stacked all around her, some open and half full with odds and ends poking out of them. “How long was your stay?” 

Kayvon chuckles as he hands her a bubbly, green drink in a tall glass. “My dear, I’ve been here for many years. I own a herd of fathiers for the races, or at least I did,” his eyes darken. “This place is deteriorating quickly… the collapse of the rule of law around here has turned it into a third-rate establishment if you ask me.”

Rey raises an eyebrow. “That’s a shame. I must say, even though I’ve only been here a few hours, I can’t disagree with you. I can’t find a single master with half decent scampers to sell me.”  She takes a sip of her drink. She swallows with no small amount of effort. It’s disgusting.

Kayvon nods his head in agreement. “People around here have forgotten how to keep their slaves in order. That’s why I’m leaving. Going to a place where the rule of law is respected and _enforced_.”

Rey turns her head slightly towards him, but doesn’t look at him. She looks around, trying to seem bored. “Hmmm… so I suppose you can’t help me acquire scampers either, can you?”

“ _Now_ ,” he intones deeply. “I didn’t say that. It just so happens that I am the proud owner of the three most well behaved, hardest working scampers in all of Canto Bight,” he boasts. “I can’t sell you all of them because I still need service once I reach my destination. But I’d be willing to sell you the girl.” Suddenly, he whistles and barks “Kala!”

A girl no older than seven comes barreling out from a nook in the room, her curly red hair hanging in front of her face. She is very skinny and very dirty. Her eyes are downcast, trained on the floor.   

“See… what did I tell you. The most obedient scampers in Canto Bight. And for only 50 Druggats,” Kayvon nods towards her purse.

Rey sighs heavily, pretending to consider his offer. She looks over at the girl, then looks away. “The truth is, I prefer boys,” She says.

“Of course you do,” Kayvon replies. “But I can’t give up my boys. I’ll need them when I get to Coruscant.”

Rey lets out a light laugh. “Coruscant?! You’re taking these dirty little cretins into the biggest, most sophisticated city in the galaxy!?” She shakes her head, snickering. 

“What?” Kayvon leans in with a little alarm.

“Oh, it’s just that I’m from Coruscant, and I know the people there, especially the elites.” She giggles again. “I would just love to be there when they see these skinny, corpse-like scampers serving them drinks in your home.”

Kayvon’s eyes knit together. “Well, of course I won’t use them to serve guests. I’ll keep them out of sight. Use them only for menial tasks.”

Rey laughs again and shakes her head. “My dear,” she starts, “ _nothing_ stays hidden on Coruscant. It won’t take long for your acquaintances to know you brought desert rats into their beautiful city.” 

She can feel Kayvon growing agitated. 

“Well I’m not one to obsess over public opinion,” he scoffs, sitting back. But he appears concerned, lost in thought. 

Rey smirks inwardly. Who needs wiles when you have wits?

“Well, it’s _your_ reputation.” Rey shrugs. She sets her drink on the table and gets up. “I would say that I might run into you there, but…” She lets her voice trail off, and looks away, as if she’s already embarrassed to be seen with him.

She can feel him getting more and more worried.

“Thank you for the drink,” she says without looking at him, then walks towards the exit.

“Wait!” She can hear him get up and scuttle after her.

She turns slowly, lazily catching his gaze. He eyes her pouch. “How much do you have in there?” he inquires.

“More than enough.” She responds.

His eyes darken with doubt.

Rey lets a calm stillness overtake her. She looks deep into Kayvon’s eyes with a gentle intensity. She does not break her gaze.

“It’s more than enough.” She says again, reaching into his mind.

“It’s more than enough,” Kayvon agrees robotically. He turns and lets out another whistle. “Jian! Bran!”

Two boys scuttle out from seemingly nowhere. One has long, black curly hair tousled messily about his head. The other has straight mouse-brown hair with chubby cheeks.

“Meet your new master,” he growls at them. He turns to Rey. “Now I suppose it’s you who will have to explain to your friends why you have these mud bugs serving you.”

Rey throws her head back and scoffs. “Oh, I won’t be taking them with me,” she assures him. “I’ll sell them off before I leave.” She hands him her purse and turns to exit the room.

“Go on, now. Follow her!” She hears Kayvon bark one last order at the children. She walks back down the expansive hallway, hearing the pattering of little feet on the floor behind her. She looks back to check on them. They’re heads are bowed, eyes downcast. She feels their fear and uncertainty. She picks up her pace a little. 

Rey emerges onto the deck and heads back towards the boulder where she left Finn and Rose. 

Suddenly, she sees Finn’s head pop up.

Immediately, one of the little boys jets past her at a full run. Finn begins racing towards him. When they meet, he tucks his hands under the boy’s arms, lifting him up high in the air and spinning in circles, grinning up at him. He gingerly places him back on the ground and crouches down, taking him into his arms and holding him tight. Tears are streaming down Finn’s face. Rose looks on with teary eyes as well. 

“You’re free. You’re free, Jian,” he keeps telling him. “What did I tell you, huh?” he asks, pulling back from the boy. “I’m gonna get you outta here, right?”

“Right,” the boy smiles, and brings his forehead to rest on Finn’s. They both gaze at each other for a few seconds, overjoyed.

Finally, Finn pulls back and looks up at Rey. His eyes are overflowing with gratitude. He stands and gently takes the boy’s hand, guiding him towards her. 

“Jian,” Finn says softly, crouching back down when he gets to Rey. Rey crouches with them. “I want you to meet someone very special. This is Rey. The girl I told you about. She’s like you, Jian. She has abilities.”

The boy, previously looking down shyly at the ground, snaps his head up to look at her with wide eyes. She smiles at him.

“Hello, Jian,” says Rey. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” She extends a hand out, palm facing upwards, before him. He looks down at her palm and then back up to Finn, as though he’s asking permission.

“Go on,” Finn nudges him gently. 

The boy turns to look at Rey. His eyes are bit guarded, but he still reaches out to take her hand.

His soft skin touches hers.

She feels it immediately. The power of the Force rising within her like she’s never felt it before. It seems to lift her off the ground… she feels weightless. Her heart swells. A deep, aching compassion fills her…

Her head tilts back slightly. She looks around her. She’s not next to Finn and the boy anymore. She’s in a dark cellar somewhere. She hears faint crying behind her. She turns to see a little girl with dark black locks huddled on the floor, knees to her chest. She holds her arm close and rocks gently. She’s injured… the scene changes. This time she’s in a forest. The air is hot and thick around her. She jumps at the sound of a loud crack. She turns just in time to see a heavy whip land a blow on a man’s back. He yelps in pain.

“Set them free…” a voice whispers in her ear.

The scene changes again. She sees a mother on her knees, crying up to a man, a First Order officer, holding her baby by the scruff of his neck. “Don’t hurt him, please!” the woman is begging, tears streaming down her face. The officer looks down at her with contempt, kicking her in the gut. He turns to fling the baby behind him.

“Set them free…”

The scene changes again. She is in a dark, cramped place. A freighter, maybe? It’s moving. All around her, men, women, and children are packed so tightly together they can hardly move. The smell is unbearable. She hears soft crying all around her. 

“Set them free…”

The scene changes once more. This time, she seems to be inside of a volcano. Molten lava shoots up beside her. The air is stultifying. She has trouble breathing. She looks just ahead… and she sees him. Standing between two rows of short, rocky columns. He’s facing her. He’s yelling something indistinguishable… he looks angry and desperate. She tries to make out a few of the items on the columns… a black sphere, the Crystal of Aantonaii, a small stone, and… a stack of something? Suddenly, he begins charging towards her menacingly. She tries to run away but she’s frozen in fear.

She’s not in the volcano any more. Bright streams of light are shooting all around her, as if she’s traveling through hyperspace. She feels it again… the weightlessness. She seems to be suspended in midair. The Force flows through her as the light dances all around. She’s never felt it so strongly before… _never_. She fills it lifting her higher, higher… so much power. She doesn’t even try to control it. She just experiences it, letting it course in and around her, all throughout her.

Suddenly, the light around her turns to black. She is still suspended in the air. She curls her body into the fetal position and closes her eyes, floating. There is nothing but a pure, calm stillness around her.

Then she hears it… a voice barely above a whisper.

“You are the Living Word. And when the time is right, you will know what to do.” 

Rey’s eyes fly open. She’s back on Canto Bight, back in front of Finn and the boy. They are both staring at her with knitted brows.

“Hey, Rey, are you ok?” Finn’s hand rests on her shoulder. She sits back on the ground, unable to speak. She looks to the boy. He looks back at her with curiosity.

She sits up on her knees and gazes at him intently. “Thank you,” the words escape her mouth breathlessly. 

She rises slowly, still a bit unsteady. She can feel Rose and Finn’s concern for her.

“I’m fine,” she says without looking at them. “But I need to go back to the Falcon for a little while. I’ll see you later tonight. 

She rushes away without waiting for them to respond. The suns are beginning to set… it’s dusk now. She makes her way down the rocky hills back towards the circled encampment, thoughts racing. 

Since the General gave Rey data containing the New Republic’s linguistic archives, she’s been learning a lot more from the Jedi texts. She’s translated passages on all kinds of information… the early years of the Jedi, the formation of the Sith, Force abilities she’s never heard of—like blinding, stealth, and projection. She still hasn’t translated anything on healing yet, a skill she desperately wants to try to learn, but she’s finding that with practice, determination and a little help from Maz Kanata, she can pick up new Force abilities almost naturally. Her body and her mind take to channeling the Force like she’s been doing it her whole life.

“Trust your instincts, child,” Maz told her the last time they spoke. “There is a time for book learning to end. The words on the page will only take you so far. Reflection, experience, intuition… they will take you the rest of the way.”

These words echo in her mind as she thinks about what she just felt when that little boy touched her hand. She can’t exactly explain how… but she feels like she learned more about the Force from the vision Jian just gave her than in the weeks she’s spent pouring over the Jedi texts. The books can teach her skills and history… but the vision she just had communicated something much deeper. If the Force can be understood as an intelligence, then the vision seemed to invite her into the Force’s mind, showing her its thoughts and desires, its current preoccupations as it continues to work towards its ultimate goal, its reason for being— the never-ending pursuit of a balance always just out of reach.

_You are the Living Word._

She has no idea whatsoever what that means. She hasn’t translated any references to a “Living Word” in the Jedi texts. But she did recently translate something else. About an ancient prophecy… The Chosen One. Something about that boy reminded her of it.

She needs to re-read that passage, to remember exactly what it says. She knows the conventional wisdom… Maz told her that Anakin Skywalker, Darth Vader to many, was the Chosen One. But her instincts, her intuition… wat she just felt with Jian. Maybe the conventional wisdom is wrong.

She swiftly ascends the Falcon’s ramp and closes it behind her. She walks over to the trap door on the Falcon and squats down, lifting it.

Suddenly, the trap door drops shut as she sits up erect. He’s here. She feels his gaze on her back.

She pivots and turns to look behind her.

He’s standing a few paces ahead, staring with his head slightly cocked to the side. She turns to fully face him, sitting back on her feet on the floor.

They lock eyes, wordless for a few seconds. Why is he looking at her so strangely…?

Oh… _the dress._

She looks down at herself and back up at him again, shaking her head. “Don’t ask.”

He raises his eyebrows for a moment, then begins to walk around the lounge, taking in his surroundings. He picks up his glove laying on a table, then puts it back down.

“Do you still have my button?” She asks.

He looks slightly towards her and nods. He continues to walk, looking around. He’s making her nervous… she’s remembering what happened the last time he showed up on the Falcon. 

“I’m on Cantonica,” she blurts out. He turns towards her. She stands. He looks her up and down.

“I’m not here for the Darkstaff,” she assures him. He’ll sense that she’s telling the truth. “I’m just here to help some friends. There’s no reason for the First Order to come here.” As the words escape her, she pushes a certain piece of information back in the depths of her mind… the brewing slave rebellion. She can’t think of a reason he would care about that, but someone else in the First Order’s ranks might.

He nods, slightly, and resumes his walk around the lounge. _What is he doing?_

She lets herself be still to sense his emotions, his thoughts… he’s… lost in memories. Of a life long ago. He stops as he looks down at a bed in the corner. She sees the image in his mind. A young boy, head resting on Han Solo’s chest, Han’s arms wrapped around him. They’re both half asleep, eyes closed. Han reaches out to tousle the boy’s hair. “Rascal…” he whispers.   

Ben stands, just staring down at the bed. Her heart hurts… she can feel how much his is aching.

A sudden clatter above snaps both of them out of the trance. He looks back at her. “What was that?”

She shrugs. “Porgs.”

He knits his eyebrows together as if to say “ _Really_?” Then he resumes his walk around the lounge.

She watches him quietly, curiously.

“Actually… I’m glad you’re here,” Rey finally says. She walks over to take seat nearby and looks up at him. He stops moving and turns to face her.

“What do you know about the prophecy of the Chosen One?” She inquires. She can sense him stiffen as she asks the question.

He takes a breath. “Why do you ask?” He’s trying to conceal alarm. She didn’t realize this question would trigger his paranoia. Then again, most things trigger his paranoia…

“I met a boy today… a very special boy. He’s strong in the Force.” At this, she can feel his interest piquing. He walks towards her.

For a moment, a white panic washes over Rey. What if she shouldn’t be telling him this…? Sensing her fear, he assures her, “I have more important things to do than capture Force-sensitive little boys.”

She relaxes a little. “Ben,” she feels him flinch inwardly at the name, “this boy has absolutely no training, but a few weeks ago he healed my friend.”

“Did the healing stick?” he asks. The question catches her of guard. She didn’t know it was possible for it not too.

“My friend is still alive and completely whole,” she answers. He sits next to her and leans forward, forearms resting on his knees. 

“So… the Chosen One,” she continues. “He’s supposed to be a person with incredible Force power, correct? Enough power to bring balance to the Force.”

He looks over at her and nods. “So… what’s the nature of this balance? What does it mean to ‘bring balance to the Force?’” She looks up at him.

She looks back down immediately, cheeks burning. She feels the blush spread down her neck and chest.

He is not thinking about their conversation _at all_. For the first time, she really wishes she couldn’t read his thoughts. She endeavors to compose herself, to pretend that she doesn’t know what he’s thinking about. But she can’t stop blushing… He’s still looking down the front of her dress. 

She takes a breath. A few more seconds pass.

“ _Ben_ …” she says with a hint of annoyance.

He looks away from her. “What was the question again?” He asks.

She sighs. “What does it mean to truly bring balance to the Force?”

“The Jedi interpreted the prophecy to mean that the Chosen One would destroy the Sith once and for all,” he answers. 

“Ok… the last Sith lord is no more, thanks to your grandfather. So, I guess the Force is already balanced?” Even as she asks the question she instinctively feels the answer in her heart. The prophecy must still be unfulfilled… this galaxy, in its current state, is anything but balanced. 

“What do you think?” She looks up at him again. “Do you think the prophecy has already been fulfilled?” Their eyes lock.

 _Aaaand_ … he’s not thinking about their conversation again. 

She turns away abruptly, blushes renewing. She’s not going to learn anything from him if his mind keeps getting distracted. Without looking at him, she points to the left. “Will you please hand me that jacket?” She asks.

He gets up and walks over to where she’s pointing. He removes the jacket from its hook and walks back to her. His arm extends towards her with the jacket hanging off his index and middle fingers. He looks her up and down a final time.

“I like your dress,” he compliments her. 

“I’m aware.” She blushes again as she takes the jacket from him and quickly puts it on, wrapping it around her body. She turns slightly away from him and he retakes his seat next to her. For a second, they both struggle to suppress a smile.

“So…” she begins again. “What do you think? Has the prophecy been fulfilled?”

He doesn’t answer her. He looks out into nothing… considering. She can feel his uncertainty… of how to answer her. She’s onto something. She can feel it. These questions make him very uncomfortable. 

“I don’t know,” he lies.

He thinks the prophecy is unfulfilled too. Why does he even bother trying to lie to her?

He stands up abruptly and walks away. He sighs, exasperated. She can feel his exhaustion—He’s tired of trying to keep her out of his head.

Rey gets up and walks over to the trap door on the Falcon. She lifts it and drops inside the space below the floor.

Ben looks on, curiously.

She crawls back up with the metal case where she keeps the Jedi texts. She wants to show him the exact wording of the prophecy as she’s translated it… it mentions nothing about destroying the Sith.

She sets the case on the table, then presses a thumb to unlock it. He’s walking up behind her, eyeing the case. It opens, revealing its contents.

Immediately, she feels a storm of emotions from behind rip through her all at once. He feels excitement, relief, anticipation, fear, guilt… the emotions rage as he desperately tries to contain them. She turns a heel to face him. What is going on…?

He takes a step back as she catches his gaze. His emotions are still turbulent. He’s struggling to suppress them.

For the first time in quite a while, she’s able to probe the depths of his mind. He can’t stop her. His guard is down.

To her surprise, she sees the same image she saw earlier in the vision Jian gave her. The volcano. The bursts of lava. Him… Ben…. standing between the rocky columns. This time, his head is bowed and his back is to her.

She focuses her attention to the items on the columns. On the first row, she sees the Crystal of Aantonaii, a black sphere, a staff… on the other, she sees a small stone, then— 

Suddenly it’s like she’s flying through hyperspace without a ship, a blinding brightness all around her. She sees an image off in the distance… it grows closer, closer… It’s a tree. A giant, towering tree. Its leaves are… strange. They’re black and drooping, almost as if they’re dead. The trunk is massive and knotted. It looks dead too… and yet strangely vibrant at the same time. A vibrant, living darkness. 

Finally, he pushes her out of his head with a force that knocks her back. He’s backing away from her, breathing heavily, eyes wide and afraid. He looks exactly like he did the first time she probed his mind on Starkiller base.

She looks at him in confusion. He looks back at her in panic.

Then in an instant, he’s gone.

She stands, leaning back on the table behind her, still trying to process what just happened. _What did just happen?_

She turns to face the table and leans over, resting her palms on it.

What on earth triggered that? He is usually much better at containing his emotions, keeping her out of his head. What destroyed his mental guard so suddenly?

The Chosen One.

That must be it. Her questions really got to him. She could sense it from the moment she began asking him. She’s accidentally stumbled upon something central to his plans… but she’s not sure how. Every time she sees him, she discovers a new piece to the puzzle. His intentions with the Sith artifacts. But she still can’t see the whole picture. Not yet.

That tree though… she felt its significance to him. It’s where the Darkstaff is hidden.

She turns abruptly, looking around. She needs to get this information to the General immediately. The race is on… he’ll try to get there before she does. She must discover where this tree is located. _Now_.

Where is that commlink?

As she searches, she sees his glove on the table. She walks over to pick it up, holding it for a moment, feeling the thickness of the fabric.

Then she puts it in the case with the Jedi texts and locks it.


	8. Darkstaff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo Ren attempts to obtain the final Sith artifact needed to fulfill his plans

 

 Streams of rain pour down the front of Kylo Ren’s mask.

The earth below his boots is wet but firm. His thick black robes hang heavy, soaked through.

 A crack of lightening briefly illuminates the scene before him. The rocky, uneven terrain stretches out in front of a massive tree towering above, the trunk as wide as a TIE fighter, black, oily and twisted. It’s moving. Or at least it seems to, thick roots squirming like snakes on the ground, slithering up into the tree, trunk throbbing with dark energy.

All six of his knights are kneeling in a wide circle around him on the perimeter of the tree, heads bowed and chanting in an ancient language. The Old Tongue. Sith. 

 

_Chirikyât_

_Taka zeech ma toka duuwaj_

_Chirikyât_

_Hadzuska koshûjontû Vexok savaka._

 

The words seem to come from not many voices but one. One omnipresent voice, filling the air around him.

As they speak the words again and again, Kylo Ren feels the Dark Side of the Force surging through him with an intensity he’s never felt before. He’s soaked through with rain and yet he feels on fire. He should be in agony, flesh boiling with white hot pain, but he’s not. He’s strong and steady with a calm like the eye of a storm inside him.

He’s ready for this.

In some ways, he’s been preparing for this moment his whole life. From first the day Snoke stole into his mind and planted a seed of darkness. The first of many. 

The Jedi talk about the Dark Side as though it were a cop out, the quick and easy path as opposed to their labored but more rewarding one. _Fools._ They speak about a power they’ve never tried to wield, a power they don’t understand.

The Dark Side is easy enough to draw from, but once it enters you… it is corrosive. That part is unavoidable. But what can be controlled is how rapidly the corrosion spreads, how deeply it infects. And the power one can harvest from the source of the corrosion—the greed, anger, hatred, aggression. And fear. For those who can channel the intensity of these emotions without allowing themselves to be crippled by them, there awaits power that is almost inconceivable.

Most don’t make it that far. The darkness consumes them, kills them.

But Kylo Ren has been channeling the darkness for many years now and he’s not dead yet. Not even close. Just the opposite. His Life Force is strong. His body is strong. His mind more unbreakable than ever.

He is still corroded… in his spirit. But his bloodline grants him an incredible degree of endurance when it comes to channeling the Force in either aspect, the Dark and the Light.

And he will need all of it today. The advantage of his bloodline… his years of training under Snoke… because today he will do something precious few Sith have been able to do. 

Today, he will call the Darkstaff to him.

He is not so stupid as to not be afraid. Fear is a necessary ally in the task that lies ahead. If the past is any teacher… the moment one stops fearing the Darkstaff is the moment one loses control of it.

The Darkstaff is best understood as a living thing. A personality. It has a will. Like the Force, it is an intelligence, except instead of seeking balance it seeks destruction. It can communicate with sentient beings in their minds, seducing them, drawing them into its web of deceit. It is the ultimate deceiver. It will project thoughts into the mind of its host, thoughts to make them believe what it needs them to believe in order to achieve its ends.

Resisting its attempts to control his mind will not be easy. But Kylo Ren won’t have to touch it for long. Just long enough to retrieve it and then to immediately lock it away. Its case is prepared just behind him. Straight into his hand, straight into the case, straight onto the command ship and into the First Order archives. 

He can do this. 

It could be worse. When touched by one who is practiced in channeling the Dark Side of the Force, the Darkstaff will simply attempt to use him as a vassal. But when touched by one who is only powerful in the Light aspect… the Darkstaff will seek to snuff the light out.   

He _needs_ to do this. He needs to do this before she gets here.

He’s under no illusions. He knows the consequences of their last meeting. It was regrettable, but necessary. He made the best decision he could have made in the shock of the moment. He truly had no idea that she was in possession of the Jedi texts. Once he found out, he could not control his reaction. She took advantage of this weakness, probing deep enough into his mind to begin to see his intentions with the artifacts, to see that he needs what she has… the only way to redirect her was to show her something else she wanted.

He has the First Order watching every inch of this planet, both ground and aerial patrols. But in a way, this is worse. It means she’ll try to sneak in alone.

That’s only a problem if she gets here before he can finish. And she’s not here now. If she were, he would undoubtedly sense it. So far, so good… but he must hurry.

 

_Chirikyât_

_Taka zeech ma toka duuwaj_

_Chirikyât_

_Hadzuska koshûjontû Vexok savaka._

 

He closes his eyes inside his mask. He concentrates on the chanting, the words…

He feels the Darkstaff calling to him deep from within the tree. The trunk twists and squirms.

Slowly, he extends his right arm towards it, fingers taut and ready. He breathes in, stoking the fire inside him. As he exhales, his arm begins to shake uncontrollably. Quickly, he straightens his back and concentrates on the fire, the pain… his muscles harden and the shaking stops.

He feels himself stretching out through the Force to touch the tree, oily, twisting, knotting, pulsing. He pushes through the thick, serpentine outer layer of the trunk deep inside, reaching for the core.

Then he feels it, sliding across the tip of his middle finger… the great darkness. His gloved fingers creep and crawl their way around it.  

A cold force jerks him back.

 

_Wo Zayin Tsyok Nun?_

(Who are you to claim me?)

 

A hissing voice asks the question in his mind.

 

 _I am Kylo Ren, Master of the Knights of Ren. Lord of Darkness_ , he answers in turn.

 

_'Ari anjat Odojinya? Nu kahru lur shu yin._

(Lord of Darkness? I sense Light in you.)

 

 _You sense Power_ , he projects the reply forcefully into the depths of the tree, into the Darkstaff’s mind. 

_NNNNNN… Nu kahru midwan. Châts midwan. Tok Qyâsik. Ni shâsot. Ni saarai._

(Yes… I sense Power. Incomparable Power. The Force. My struggle/passion. My truth.)

 

_My Power is yours… but only once you let me claim you._

 

_Tyro Tsyok Nun._

(Then claim me)

 

The sound of hissing rises inside his mind. A thousand serpent tongues strike out into his thoughts, his emotions… they invade his consciousness like vines climbing up a tree. He wraps his hands more tightly around the Darkstaff and begins to pull it towards him with the Force.

He still stands several paces in front of the tree, arm extended towards the trunk. The knights are still chanting, heads bowed, all around him.

He feels a dull ache between his eyes. The Darkstaff… it’s not wasting any time worming its way into his mind, searching for a weakness, a foothold for control. 

Kylo Ren braces inwardly, slowing the Darkstaff’s progress into his consciousness. He pulls it closer to him… his eyes are closed and yet he can still see it begin to emerge from the tree, sliding past the slick, twisting outer layer of the trunk.

The knights begin to chant more loudly. They can sense it too. The Darkstaff is emerging…

The snaking, writhing trunk of the tree slakes back into place as the Darkstaff exits, floating a few feet above the ground, slowly making its way towards Kylo Ren’s outstretched hand.

The fire in his chest consumes him with gnawing pain. Tendrils of the Darkstaff’s will still wrap their way around the corners of his mind, digging deeper.

_Closer. Closer it comes._

He will have it soon. He will finish this.

Suddenly, the chanting around him grows noticeably fainter. To his right, two of his knights have stopped repeating the words.

His eyes fly open and he turns towards them sharply. What could possibly break their focus at the crucial moment?

Their heads are not bowed. They are looking behind him, the opposite direction of the tree. He follows their gaze. 

_Rey._

How is this possible? How could he have not sensed her presence before now?

She stands several paces ahead of them, feet firmly planted, back straight, shoulders down, eyes trained directly on him. It’s as if she’s oblivious to the rain pouring over her body. 

Before Kylo can say anything, Veda’s lightsaber crackles to life. So does Silo’s. They begin striding menacingly towards Rey.

Cold panic washes over Kylo Ren. Of all the ways this could have gone, this is a nightmare scenario.

Suddenly, he feels the Darkstaff retreating back to the tree. He turns sharply to face it, gripping it firmly once more through the Force.

He closes his eyes to sense what’s going on around him, behind him. Four of his knights—Mei, Thulu, Noghri, and Baal—are still kneeling, heads bowed and chanting, though distracted. Veda and Silo are almost to Rey, who still stands unarmed and unmoving.

A second later, he feels a surge of confusion from the knights behind him. But he doesn’t turn around… he keeps his focus on the Darkstaff just ahead. 

A few seconds later, and _all_ of his knights cease chanting. He opens his eyes. Rey is standing directly in front of him now, right before the trunk of the tree, the Darkstaff suspended in the air between them. _How did she move from behind to in front of him so quickly?_

He struggles not to lose focus, to keep his tight grip on the Darkstaff… but he can feel it loosening.

 _Rey… don’t touch it, Rey_ , he projects the thought into her mind as his intense gaze bears down on her from within his mask.

_This is not a game… DO NOT touch the Darkstaff._

 

Did she just smirk at him _!?_

 

Mei and Thulu’s lightsabers crackle to life. They both begin to charge at Rey.

She just stands there, staring him down as they race closer. He feels his heartbeat quicken. What is she doing?

Just as the knights reach her, she disappears into thin air. Mei and Thulu ram into one another, knocking each other back onto the wet earth.

“There! She’s over there!” Kylo hears Noghri cry to his left. He can’t take his eyes off the Darkstaff… he’s too close to the end now…

There is chaos all around him. His knights charge to the left, then halt when they hear Veda cry, “No! Over there!” As he sees Baal and Thulu run in front of him to the other side, lightsabers drawn, Rey appears again in front of him, but slightly to the side. Silo charges towards her, but halts, slipping, when she disappears again.

Force projection. She’s making copies of herself. A lesser feat than Luke’s on Crait, but still an exceedingly difficult skill to master. She seems to pick up Force abilities like she does languages. 

He focuses on the Darkstaff. He needs to. It’s so close… no more than three feet from his outstretched hand. 

Suddenly, he hears her cry out behind him. His instinct is to whip around, but he stops himself just in time.

That’s not Rey… that’s the Darkstaff. Trying to distract him. Trying to break his focus long enough to complete its domination of his mind.

Kylo Ren is panting heavily through his mask. His fingers… it’s just out of reach.

Explosions of electricity crackle just to the right of him. The real Rey has unsheathed her weapon, and she’s fighting no less than three of his knights, soon to be four. He sees the image out of the corner of his eye… Rey is wielding Mei’s old doubled-sided lightsaber. She’s high in the air, a foot over Noghri’s head, knees tucked into her chest, right arm extended with the saber above her head. As she descends, she kicks both feet hard into Veda’s chest, knocking her back and to the ground, disarming her.

Both Noghri and Rey spin around to face each other. Noghri brings his arm overhead and begins to strike down upon Rey. Rey rears back, elbow bent, then thrusts her saber towards his body for a strike. Just before she hits him, she ducks unexpectedly stepping to the side. Still ducked, she pivots, turning swiftly to face Baal behind her. As she brings one side of her saber up to meet Baal’s crashing down upon her, the other side grazes and burns the front of Noghri’s knees. He yowls in pain as he falls to the ground.

He can almost touch it… it’s right here. He stretches out his right arm, straining his shoulder. The tips of his gloved hand touch it. He feels his fingers slide along the side of it. They begin to wrap around the back. 

A bare arm extends down from above him. His eyes drift upward as small, ungloved fingers grip the Darkstaff. Rey is mid back flip, vertical in the air. In a second, she’s behind him, taking the Darkstaff with her, landing lightly on her feet. She breaks into a run.

Time seems to slow as all six of his knights launch after her. He turns as they all speed by him. She’s sprinting across the long, rocky plateau, full energy thrusting her forward several paces ahead of the knights.  

Her feet pound one after the other on the wet ground as she grips the Darkstaff, slicing through the heavy rain.

Then he sees it. The knights do too. She begins to slow down.

Kylo Ren’s heart drops. _I told you not to touch it, Rey_

She slips a little, but still thrusts forward with all her might.

The knights begin to let off, slowing from a full run to brisk strides.

She slips again. This time she falls, free palm landing hard on the sharp rocks below. They cut deep into her hand. She pushes herself up, struggling and tripping as she tries to dash forward. She slips again.

The knights slow to a downright stroll. They switch off their lightsabers.

Kylo Ren switches his on. He steps forward briskly to join them.

She’s on her knees now, facing the ground. She’s gasping for air… but finds that very little enters her lungs. She’s still gripping the Darkstaff.

The knights part as Kylo Ren walks between them then close the gap behind him. Rey is soaked and retching on the ground a few feet ahead of them. They approach her at a leisurely pace.

They stop just before her. She’s released the Darkstaff now. It lays on the ground next to her. She’s on her knees, one palm on the ground, one at her heart as she takes fast, sharp gasps. Rain pours over her body. 

 _KILL HER!_ Kylo hears Mei’s voice project into his mind.

He takes a step towards Rey, looking down over her.

 _Kill her, NOW!_ He hears Mei again. He feels a chorus of anticipation behind him. 

Rey falls to her side and rolls over to face him. Her palms are propping her up, arms slightly behind her body. Her knees are bent and she’s kicking into the earth with her heels, trying to scoot back from him. She looks up into his masked face.

Her eyes are full of terror and confusion. She’s disoriented. Tears stream down her cheeks, mixing with the rain. 

 _KILL HER!_ Mei grows impatient.

Another sharp rock slices Rey’s palm as she tries to back away. She falls to her elbows. His fiery lightsaber hums above her. Her eyes reflect its red glow as she continues to gaze up at him.

Mei’s lightsaber crackles to life. She lunges towards Rey for a killing blow.  The saber shoots towards her chest…

And is caught by Kylo Ren’s from below. He steps in front of Mei with a forceful, upward thrust of his lightsaber, then pushes her backwards. She stumbles a bit, but then ducks down and lunges again towards Rey, attempting to side step him. He catches Mei’s upper arm, gripping it tightly, then flings her back. 

She flies into Thulu, nearly knocking him down as she falls to the wet ground, sliding backwards, her lightsaber clattering out of her hand.

For a moment, all of the knights look at him, their disbelief palpable.  

Baal switches his lightsaber on. He circles around to attack Rey from the side. 

Kylo Force-slams him several feet back. He does the same to Noghri and Veda as the launch towards him.

Both Thulu and Silo charge towards him as well, lightsabers drawn. Kylo’s saber shoots up and catches Thulu’s. With his other hand, he grabs Silo by the neck and casts him to the side. With the strong flick of his saber, he disarms Thulu. Thulu backs away from Kylo, uncertain.

Baal races towards Kylo from the side. Kylo turns to catch him. Their lightsabers lock. Kylo swiftly gives a clean, hard kick to the center of Baal’s chest. He staggers back, falling to the ground, but then gets up and charges again.

Kylo strikes with precision, severing Baal’s hand from his body. He cries out, dropping to his knees, clasping his wrist with his remaining hand.

At this, all of the knights charge towards Kylo at once. A fury of red and blue electricity lights up the dark, rainy night as Kylo fends off five attackers. They are surrounding him, but Kylo is still at the advantage. He channels the rage welling up inside him, enhancing his speed, strength, and reflexes. He swings rapidly— to the right, to the left, below, above—and precisely, fending off strikes coming from all angles. He’s kicking and slashing and grabbing, one knight flying forward, another knight flying back.

As he Force-slams knights away from him, they get up and charge at him again. Kylo begins to lose patience. Hatred burns in his belly as he extends an arm towards three knights running towards him. Crackling bolts of lightning shoot from his fingertips directly into the chests of the charging knights. They double over in pain as the lightening emanating from Kylo’s fingers wracks their bodies, tormenting them. The other knights watch on in horror.

After a minute, he releases his victims from their anguish. They lie on the wet ground, gasping for air.

The other knights watch him silently—Mei, Baal, and Silo.   

Rey is gone. Nowhere to be seen.

He looks out to where he last saw her. The Darkstaff still lies on the wet, rocky earth. He strides over to it, then stoops down to retrieve it. 

The serpents resume their course through his mind as he grips the Darkstaff, walking towards the case waiting near the tree. He switches off his lightsaber. Then he leans down before the case and clicks it open, placing the Darkstaff inside. As he releases his grip, he feels himself regain complete control of his mind.

He stands, case in hand. He turns and walks in the direction of the Upsilon command shuttle nearby. 

“TRAITOR!”

He hears Mei’s voice, unmasked, call out behind him. She switches on her lightsaber and comes running at him again. Again, he draws upon the hatred burning hot in his belly as he turns; Bursts of lightening shoot from his fingers to consume Mei’s body, crippling her in a second.

He lets her feel the intensity of his rage for a minute before he releases her.

He looks down at her dispassionately. “I explicitly ordered you,” he begins with an eerie calm. He looks up at the rest of the knights, who are staring at him dumbfounded. “I explicitly ordered all of you _not_ to touch the girl. And you disobeyed me.”

He looks over at Baal. “The next time that happens… you will all lose much more than a hand.” He spits the words out, voice deep and distorted by his mask. He turns to resume his walk to the shuttle.

“Why?” He hears Silo ask. “Why can’t we touch the girl?” 

Kylo turns a heel abruptly to face him.

“Because,” his rage simmers just beneath the calm in his voice, “the girl has the Jedi texts in her possession. I can retrieve them from her… as long as she doesn’t suspect me. And as long as she’s still alive.”

He feels this revelation wash over the knights. It doesn’t excuse what he’s done to them. But it does explain it.

Once again, Kylo turns away from the knights and marches towards the shuttle. 

They don’t follow him.

He grips the case, the only thing that keeps this entire day from being an unmitigated disaster.

There’s a few ways things could go from here. 

Mei could convince the knights to mutiny and overthrow him, instituting herself as the Master. They will try to kill him. _Try._ If they succeed, they’ll have control of the First Order.

But they won’t have their crystals. Their precious crystals that grant them enhanced Force power, the ability to see their great prophecy come to fruition.

So instead, Mei may plan a delayed mutiny, after the ritual, the one only Kylo Ren can perform. After that, they may try to kill him then and there…

Or maybe Mei will do none of those things. Maybe Mei will find, as he has, that the knights are a petulant, selfish lot that are individually gifted but incapable of truly serving something greater than themselves. Maybe she’ll snap out of her fanaticism long enough to see that Snoke’s vision was flawed and was always going to end like this… with the knights fighting each other.

Maybe.

The truth is it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t really need the knights any more, now that he has the Darkstaff. And he can obtain the Jedi texts by himself.

Still… it would have been better if he didn’t have to go into this with six more enemies than he had yesterday. And powerful ones at that. 

And it’s all because she wouldn’t listen to him. 

He told her to stay away from the artifacts. He told her to stay away from the Darkstaff. He told her not to touch it.

But she doesn’t trust him.

And he can’t blame her. Of course she doesn’t. They both want the same thing for this galaxy—order and balance—but they have very different ideas about how this should be achieved. They’ve known that since Takodana.

But at the very least, can’t she have faith in him? Faith in… _She knows_. She knows that he loves her. So can’t she have faith in the knowledge that he would do anything to make sure she survives all of this?

Apparently not.

He boards the Upsilon shuttle, finally getting a reprieve from the rain. A Stormtrooper begins to take the case from him, but one sharp turn of Kylo’s masked head scares him away. The ship’s ramp closes behind him.

He heads straight to the cockpit to oversee takeoff. 

He continues his thoughts.

Sometimes he wishes he could tell her everything, about all of this. The artifacts—both the Sith and the Jedi. The Jedi texts. Why he needs them. What he plans to do with him. How he’s only doing all of this to fulfill his destiny and bring true balance to the Force… to save the galaxy, to save her.

He’s imagined telling her before in his mind. He’s imagined her listening intently, asking questions. It’s very possible she would understand…

And it’s very possible she would not.  

In the end, he can’t afford the risk. If she doesn’t understand, she’ll be all the more equipped to stop him. And he very much doesn’t want Rey to be there the day he needs to fulfill his calling… and not just because he doesn’t want to hurt her. Rey is powerful in ways that still mystify him. He’d rather deal with fifty knights than one Rey.  

No, trying to convince her to help him is a lost cause. She’s already turned him down once.  

Besides, this is his responsibility. His birthright. As the Chosen One.

Kylo Ren sighs heavily.

He is powerful, but corroded in his spirit. Stretched, frayed, and broken. The Force has ripped his soul limb from limb. He felt that fighting his knights today more than he’s ever felt it before. And it’s only going to get worse… for him. For Rey. For the whole galaxy.  

There’s only one way he can help them. There’s only one way he can help her, to keep her from a fate like his.

He just needs her to stay out of his way.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wookiepedia article for artifact in this chapter: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Darkstaff


	9. The Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and a small unit of Resistance fighters rescue a group of captured slaves from certain death.

“ _Watch out!_ ”

Blaster fire whizzes by less than a foot in front of Rey. She’s crouched behind an overturned landcruiser. She fights the urge to peek out again at their attackers ahead.

She leans back against the cruiser and rests the hilt of her blaster on her cheek. She brings her commlink up to her lips.

“How many more are there?”

Crackles, and then silence.

“About twenty,” Jor’s voice reemerges, panting.

“And you’re sure there’s only one way in?” She double checks with him.

“Rey, this dome _was built_ to keep slaves inside of it. Yes, I’m sure.”

She brings her index finger to her lip for a moment, thinking.

“How much time do we have?” She asks.

“I don’t know… I… based on my sensors I’d say we have about three and half minutes before the bomb goes off. And I’m going to need at least thirty seconds to diffuse it.”

For a second, the comm goes dead.

“Rey,” Jor’s voice breaks through again, sounding heavy, “I think… I really hate to say this… but I think… it may be time for us to pull out.”

Rey exhales sharply. She hangs her neck, resting her forehead on the back of her hand. 

She snaps back up and brings the comm to her lips. “In thirty seconds, I want you to run for that door.”

“Rey,” Jor responds with a tinge of alarm, “I don’t want to see all those people die any more than you do, but there’s no point in sacrificing our lives for nothing. There’s four of us and twenty of them. There’s no way any one of us can get to that door without being blown to pieces.” 

“Thirty seconds, then go for it,” she tells him again. 

She places her blaster on the ground beside her, and unhooks her lightsaber from her waist.

She switches it on and it crackles to life, one side glowing blue and one side glowing red. She likes this one… feels more like a quarterstaff.

She stands and bursts out from behind the cruiser, charging towards her attackers, deflecting blaster fire with her saber, dodging it, weaving around it. It’s if she can feel every individual plasma shot leave its weapon and fly towards her on its course, a course she can sense almost without trying.

She leaps up to the large deck surrounding the outer rim of the dome. It’s meant to be an open deck, for leisurely strolling, but it’s been crudely fortified with junk, whatever’s laying around it seems—metal crates, tables, sleeping pads. 

There are eleven on her right and seven on her left. All eyes are on her, all blaster fire on her, as she descends from the air onto the deck.

She lands with both feet, still deflecting blaster fire, twirling her lightsaber all around her. With a wave of a hand, she casts the crude barricade on the edge of the deck towards the right, crashing it into oncoming slavers, knocking many of them back and down.

She turns and begins swinging and slashing precisely, disarming the slavers to her left by whatever means necessary, even if that means taking a few limbs. She turns to the right briefly, Force-slamming an onslaught of would-be attackers back.

She continues her progress to the left. Three standing now. One’s running away. She Force-commands the weapons out of the hands of the two remaining slavers, casting them to the side. They back away, terrified. With one quick, fluid movement of her arm, she flings both men over the deck and out into the night. 

To the right again. She cuts off the hand of an attacker just in front of her, another to the side of her.

She leaps over the head of another oncoming attacker, positioning herself in the center of the men left standing. Her lightsaber spins all around her— below, overhead. She disarms swiftly and methodically. She Force-slams a cadre of attackers back. She casts another over the barricaded rails.  

A couple more run away, racing along the circular curve of the deck. One left standing. He looks scared and desperate but points his blaster towards her anyway. Before he can pull the trigger, Rey holds out her arm, palm extended, and releases a flash of white light that bursts out all around her. The slaver screams and falls to his knees, covering his eyes, yelling in the local language, “ _I’m blind! I’m blind!_ ” 

A few slavers on the ground around her reach out for a weapon with their remaining limb. In one motion of her outstretched hand, she lifts all of the blasters on the deck a few feet off the ground, then clenches her fist and disables them. The slavers who can still see look up at her with wide eyes.

She turns around and brings her comm to her lips. “Jor, what’s your status? Is the bomb disabled?”

No response. Several seconds pass.

“Rey…” Jor’s voice comes in distorted at first. “Rey… affirmative. The bomb is disabled.” She hears someone cheer in the background. She lets out a big exhale. 

“Hey Rey,” Jor continues on the other end of the comm.

“Yeah." 

“I’m really glad that you’re on _our_ side.”

Rey looks down and smiles. “That makes two of us.” She looks down at the slavers on the ground around her. “What do you want me to do with the hostiles?”

“We’ve got reinforcements from the Free army coming in ten minutes,” he answers. “I’m sending Hala and Rose up. When they get there, come down here and see me, ok?”

“Got it,” Rey replies. She lets out another big exhale and stretches her shoulders down and back. It’s been a crazy two weeks.

It’s been an incredible two weeks. General Leia was right. _The tides have turned_ in this war. Though not in the way many expected.

As it turns out, Rey had arrived in Cantonica just in time for the slave rebellion. At that point, it felt like an inevitable judgement upon the luxurious but cruel leisure industry on the planet. What did not feel inevitable… what no one expected… was how swiftly and how far the flames of rebellion would spread.

Slavery was illegal under the New Republic, though it persisted in some Outer Rim territories like Cantonica. When the First Order began to rise, the old Empire slave traders sensed a change… this new power wasn’t interested in enforcing laws against slavery in the systems under its control. Oh how quickly and easily the slave trades on these planets reemerged…

Rey bets the First Order regrets its decision to turn a blind eye to the slave trade now.

Once news of the slave rebellion on Cantonica got out, the dominoes began to fall. Other rebellions cropped up like wildfire across slave trading planets in the Outer Rim. It quickly spread to more populated systems like Dressellian and Xan. Then the unthinkable… it reached the Core Worlds. Corellia. Kuat. Coruscant. All of these systems have witnessed slave rebellions of some kind, some larger than others.

This whole mess has thrown a big wrench in the First Order’s efforts to solidify its control of the galaxy. And as if the chaos of the slave rebellions wasn’t enough to handle by itself, it turns out these former slaves have inspired another kind of rebellion as well… 

The Resistance’s ranks have swelled since the uprising on Cantonica. After it quickly moved to offer support to the revolting slaves across the galaxy, the Resistance developed a reputation as the one that sparked the rebellion in the first place. Many former slaves are now all too happy to pledge their lives to fight for the Resistance. And they’ve shown others what large, organized numbers can accomplish against the First Order.

The old allies of the New Republic are beginning to fall in line behind General Leia. This is a rare opportunity… a moment of weakness for the First Order. There will never be a better time to strike.

This is all the more reason why the First Order should be moving forward with its plan for the Sith artifacts. Whatever it is… it’s sure to give them a great advantage in the fight. The Darkstaff was the last one. They’re sitting on raw power, the six most ancient, Force-imbued Sith objects in the galaxy. And yet, as far as the Resistance can tell, there’s been no change. They’ve been monitoring the planet of Mustafar, the location of Darth Vader’s old stronghold and almost certainly the volcanic world Rey keeps seeing in her dreams, but so far they’ve detected nothing out of the ordinary. The artifacts are all still locked away in the First Order archives. 

_What is he waiting for?_

While he sits on his thumbs, an army of nobodies is ripping his precious galactic order to shreds.

As Rey descends the ladder into the core of the massive dome, the scene around her jerks her out of her thoughts. It is simply one large room, a wide expanse of dirt floor and platforms. It’s packed with people—slaves—skinny and hollow-eyed. The old. The young. The very young. They all look dirty, exhausted, and weak with a look of desperate yearning in their eyes. She knows that look—hunger. These people haven’t eaten in days.

When it became inevitable that the slave rebellion on this planet would overthrow them, the slavers diverted the Free army then took all of the slaves still under their control—many children and spouses of Free army combatants—and herded them into the Dome, the place where slaves are bought and sold. The plan, apparently, was to blow themselves up with the slaves as a final act of revenge against their treacherous former property.

Rey shakes her head as she eyes a girl no older than five huddled in the corner. She’s holding something close to her chest… a baby. These past two weeks have been eye opening for Rey. She had no idea such depths of suffering existed across this galaxy. She’d lead a hard life on Jakku, but at least she had her independence and her dignity. Now she finds she was lucky to even have that.

What she has seen these past two weeks is her vision from the little Force-sensitive boy, Jian, come to life—children locked away and forgotten. Bodies used and abused until they break. People packed like things in the secret hollows of a freighter. And the more she sees, the more she dreams… turbulent dreams. Anything but restful. Dreams of suffering and pain. More images like those Jian gave her, of beings trapped and desperate. And whispers, hushed voices in the back of her mind… “You are the Living Word. And you will set them free.”

She’s confounded as to what it means. After she first touched the boy on Cantonica, she thought the vision was showing her that he was the Chosen One, a powerful Force-sensitive destined to bring true balance to the Force. But the dreams… the dreams told her otherwise. “The boy is just a sign,” the whispers echoed in her mind. “You are the Living Word. And when the time is right, you will know what to do.”

None of it makes any sense. None of it. The vision. The dreams. “The Living Word.” The Force bond with Ben. Why the Force is awakening in random nobodies like herself and Jian. Do either of them even have any midiclorians? Rey has no way of finding out.

And she has no idea how all of the pieces of the puzzle fit together. All she knows is that ever since she met Jian, ever since the slave rebellion broke out in Cantonica, she’s felt a deep calling to show the broken and neglected beings in this galaxy that they are not powerless. She wants to inspire them. If a Jakku scavenger who comes from nothing can rise to become a powerful, Force-wielding Jedi, then what possibilities might be open for them?

“Rey!”

Jor’s deep voice snaps her out of her thoughts. He’s standing with someone she doesn’t recognize, a Free army fighter probably. He quickly finishes his discussion with the man and turns towards her.

“Firstly,” he begins, “thank you for what you did tonight. Thank you for persuading me not to pull out. There are many Free army fighters who are going to see their children and spouses again because of you.”

She bows her head and nods, embarrassed by the praise. 

“Secondly, get out of here.” 

Rey balks in surprise. “Excuse me.”

“You heard me. _Get out of here_ ,” Jor repeats with emphasis. “Rose just told me you haven’t slept in thirty-six hours.”

“Oh, she’s exaggerating—“

“No, she’s not,” Jor cuts her off. “I can practically smell the exhaustion on you. And you’ve developed a reputation for skipping out on sleep.”

“Have you been talking to Poe?” Rey demands. 

“Doesn’t matter,” he responds, not even looking at her now. “Get out of here. Go back to that little piece of junk freighter you have stashed right outside this town, and get some sleep.”

“But the slaves!” Rey protests. “These people… you need help getting them out of here, getting them back to their families…”

“The Free army will be here in less than ten minutes. Then I’ll have all the help I need.”

“But—” she starts.

“ _No._ Sleep. Now.” Jor points at the ladder she just came down. 

Rey sighs and turns away. She knows exactly where sleep will lead her…more dreams, more images of suffering, more cryptic whispers. She’d rather stay awake all night and help the suffering than go to sleep and dream about them. But she must admit that her energy is quite spent… 

Rey climbs up the ladder to the deck and makes her way to another makeshift ladder recently propped against the deck’s railing. She climbs down and walks back to the cruiser she was hiding behind earlier to pick up her blaster.

It’s dark and the outpost is quiet now except for beside the dome. She hears the grainy crackle of dirt under her boots as she walks. Her mind is unusually clear as she strides briskly back to the Falcon. She must be tired… even too tired to think.

But she’s not going to go to sleep. Not yet. She knows exactly what she wants to do first.

She ascends the ramp of the Falcon and immediately stows away her weapons. She removes her jacket and sits down to untie her boots. She pulls them off at the heel and stuffs her socks inside one of them.   

Unwinding her hair, she gets up and heads straight for the shower. She pulls off her shirt and casts it to the side. She still has her pants and a thin, sleeveless undershirt on when she steps in and flips on the warm water. She turns and rests her back on the slick walls and slides down until she’s seated directly under the steady stream pouring down from the wide panel above. She hugs her knees in tightly to her chest and leans forward a bit, letting her head hang as the water beats down on her neck, shoulders, and back.

Showers are a luxury she most certainly did not have on Jakku. And she must admit that she’s really taken to them. Sometimes, she takes one even when she doesn’t need to. She just likes to feel the warm water pouring over her, enveloping her. She likes to feel the hot steam filling the air around her. It’s the next best thing to a hug. 

Instinctively, her mind wanders to that day in the cave on the abandoned planet… when Ben healed her. She felt so strangely at home in his arms. Her enemy, by all logic, yet sinking into him had felt like the most natural thing to do. She’s embarrassed to admit it, but she still thinks about that day often. Especially when she’s trying to fall asleep. There’s something about the memory of him holding her that helps her quiet her mind.

Rey rests her forehead on her knees and lets herself relax. Her muscles begin to loosen along her shoulders. Her jaw slackens a bit as her breathing gently slows. She closes her eyes and starts to drift… The sound of the water hitting her skin, pattering on the floor around her slowly fades away. Her head nods over to the right, slightly. One by one, her hands slide down her shins and fall to the floor.

 

Rey awakens with a gasp, head snapping up sharply. She takes a deep inhale as she brings her hand to her eyes and wipes the water off her face. She shakes her head and looks out. 

He’s crouching down just ahead, a little to the side, watching her with curiosity. _How long has he been here…?_ She couldn’t have been asleep for more than a few minutes. It was his presence that jerked her out of her sleep in the first place. She starts to reprimand him for scaring her half to death but then realizes it’s not exactly his fault.

She sits up a little bit, looking out at him. His eyebrows are knitted together.

“What are you doing?” He asks.

She looks down at herself then back up at him. “I’m… taking a shower. Obviously.”

“With your clothes on?” He has a glint in his eye.

“Well…yes. Lucky for me, it turns out.” She looks a little embarrassed.

He gives a small nod.

She looks down. He stares at her for a few seconds, making her uncomfortable. Just as she’s about to get up, he walks over and starts to take off his gloves. She looks up at him confused. He unbuttons and unwraps his shirt, casting it to the side then steps into the shower and takes a seat next to her.

Rey’s sitting upright now, looking over at him with curiosity. His knees are bent and his back rests against the wall. He doesn’t look at her but tilts his head back, eyes closed, letting the warm water pour over him. He runs a hand through his hair once before letting both arms rest beside him.   

She looks at him for a while, but he doesn’t budge. She tries to sense his emotions, his thoughts, but for once his mind calm and clear, almost meditative. So she leans back against the wall with him. At first, she wraps her arms tightly around her knees, trying to make herself small. Then, she relaxes a little and lets her right arm fall to the side.

He reaches over to take her hand, then brings it up towards his face, opening her palm. He sees the scar in the center, the one she got trying to take the Darkstaff from him. He looks down at it, tracing it with his thumb.

“Why did you come after the Darkstaff?” His voice is low and sounds almost weary.

“Why do you want the Darkstaff to begin with?” She asks back pointedly. She senses him tense in irritation.

Gridlock. They aren’t going anywhere with this conversation.

He traces the scar one more time before releasing her hand. She brings her arm to her chest for a moment. Then, she reaches out to take his hand, wrapping her small fingers around his. 

“Thank you… for what you did. With the Knights.” She squeezes his hand gently.

He sighs. She senses his thoughts. He’s frustrated with her for showing up in the first place. He thinks she’s making it unnecessarily difficult for him to protect her. She holds in a scoff. She doesn’t need him to protect her. And ultimately, she showed up for the Darkstaff because she fears she may eventually need to protect herself against him… from whatever his plans are with the artifacts.

“Ben—”

“Stop calling me that,” he says, disentangling his hand from hers.

“Why?” She asks. “Would you prefer Kylo Ren? Or Master? Or Supreme Leader? Or one of the other titles you wear like a mask?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he spits out. She feels anger rise in him.  

“Actually, I do,” she looks up at him. “I can sense it through the Force bond. How much energy you spend every single day hiding most of who you are from the people around you. You project confidence, and yet you’re anything but. You’re always afraid someone will see past your mask… see what you’re hiding. Like how you tried to hide the Light inside you from Snoke for all those years.”

At that, he scoffs loudly. “You think I didn’t do the same thing as Ben? Ben Solo, the great Leia Organa’s son, heir to the Skywalker legacy, destined to be a Jedi prodigy? Ben Solo, Snoke’s little pet, his project, his son of darkness, quietly sewing seeds of fear and anger in me right under my parents’ noses? Do you think Ben Solo wasn’t a mask, a carefully calculated tool to hide Snoke’s influence from my mother, my uncle? I’ve lived my whole life behind a mask.”

She sits silently for a moment taking in what he just told her. After hearing this, who he is—the way he is—seems to make more sense to her. His paranoia, his deep-seated fear of being exposed.

“I call you Ben,” she starts slowly, “because that’s the name your mother gave you. Your mother—the one I see quite often. The one who every time she looks at me she thinks of you. And every time she thinks of you her heart aches with how much she wants you back.”

She feels this hit him hard. He can’t stop a pang of longing from washing over him. If only the General knew… if only she knew how close she was to having her son back… if not for his pride, his delusional ambitions.

She reaches out for his hand again. He lets her take it. 

“Ben,” Rey starts hesitantly, “Why do you want the artifacts? What do you plan to do with them?" 

He looks at her with surprise.

“I…” she looks down. “You know how much I want to know. You know… surely you must know that I’ve been using the bond to search your thoughts to find out, to report to the Resistance.”

His jaw hardens.

“But I’m tired of trying to hide that from you. I don’t want to live my life behind a mask. So, I’m just asking you, upfront.”

She looks up at him and catches his gaze.

“Why do you need the artifacts? _Please_ … tell me what’s going on.”

He looks back at her, guarded. She tries to keep out of his thoughts as a demonstration of good faith. But she can’t help but read him… he really wants to tell her the truth. He’s even thought about it before. He’s seriously considering it.

But he’s afraid that she won’t understand. He doesn’t trust her.

 _Please_ , she begs him with her eyes. _Please trust me_.

She feels how much he wants to relent. But something won’t let him. He looks away from her.

“One day,” he begins, looking down, “you’ll understand that everything I’ve done as Supreme Leader is for the sake of the galaxy. It’s something I was born to do. It took me a long time to figure it out, but I have now. And I can’t let anyone get in my way.” This last part sounds like a warning.

As he speaks, she senses it. He can’t keep the thought from entering the foreground of his consciousness.  

He thinks he’s the Chosen One. The one destined to bring true balance to the Force.

She can’t stop the curiosity welling up quickly inside her. _Why does he think this? What does this have to do with the artifacts?_

She feels him tense with fear. He’s trying to clear his mind, keep her from sensing too much.

Rey tries to clear her mind as well. She sits still and lets a peaceful calmness overtake her. She gently squeezes his hand. She wants him to feel this… to feel that he doesn’t need to be afraid.  

Gradually, he starts to relax. He lets out an exhale. Suddenly, he lets go of her hand and puts his arm around her, pulling her close beside him. She’s a little stiff, a little uncertain at first, but soon she allows her head to rest just under his shoulder, wrapping one arm around his body. He brushes the hair back from her cheek and wraps both arms around her. He kisses the top of her head as he tightens his hold.

She feels it again, just like in the cave when he healed her. How much he loves her. It feels like a second heartbeat deep inside her, thrumming reassuringly next to her own.

She’ll never understand this… how she can disagree with someone so much, trust him so little, and yet feel completely comfortable being so intimate with him. Sometimes she wonders if this is the reason the Force bond exists in the first place. If the Force is an intelligence, maybe it’s doing this to expose them to one another’s humanity. Maybe this intimacy, these feelings growing between them have a larger purpose to serve…

Rey closes her eyes and lets it all go. Her distrust of him. Her curiosity about the artifacts, his plans with them, his belief that he’s the Chosen One. The First Order. The slave rebellion. This whole galaxy embroiled in war. For the first time since their encounter in the cave, she loses herself in the Force bond. She loses herself in his warm body, water still beating down on them from above. She loses herself in the emotions she feels encircling her… Love. Compassion. Protectiveness. A peacefulness, strong and steady, washes over her.

Her breathing slows. She feels herself drifting…

 

Rey’s eyes snap open. She’s laying on the floor of the shower by herself. The water is cold now, still beating down from above. Quickly, she pushes herself up with her palms, standing and flipping off the water.

She must have fallen asleep.

She looks around her. His gloves and shirt are still lying next to the shower, but he’s nowhere to be seen. She sighs and picks up his things, putting them away in a nearby drawer. She begins peeling off her wet clothes. Her skin is soft and wrinkly from being in the shower so long. She grabs a towel and dries her body. She wraps it around her and picks up her soggy clothes.

Then she notices… wet marks on the floor leading out of the room.

She drops her clothes and follows them. She feels her heart begin to quicken. She follows them through the corridor to the lounge of the Falcon. Then she breaks into a run. She slips on the water on the floor, landing hard on her side next to the trap door that’s wide open. She scrambles down into it without bothering to stand up first. Her heart is pounding. She’s looking desperately all around her.

It’s gone. The case with the Jedi texts.

He took them.


	10. Revelations (Edited)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that he has everything he needs, Kylo Ren prepares to fulfill his destiny as the Chosen One.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an edited version of this chapter. The original, rated M version is included in this story as part of a series (Click "next work" above if you'd like to read it). Note that there will be a couple of small references in the next, final chapter (“The Chosen One”) to what happens in the original version of this one.

“Dowut, Plexis, Corellia, Tangenine, Kuat…”

Kylo Ren can feel General Hux grow more frenzied with every planet he names.

“Crul, Takodana, Secundus Ando, the Naboo, Belderone _again_ …” His voice is bordering on shrill. “Insurgency spreads like a disease in all of them. We’ve completely lost control of the Outer Rim. It’s crawling with Resistance scum and weapons, more coming in every day.” 

Kylo Ren listens without responding. He’s not even looking at the General. His shoulders are relaxed and his hands are clasped lightly behind him. His back is to Hux as he stares out the window.

“These slave uprisings are turning into an _outright rebellion against the First Order_.” The last part comes out as a guttural growl. Hux lets out a great burst of air, like he’s been holding his breath this entire conversation.

Kylo Ren feels the General’s eyes on him. He still doesn’t respond. He doesn’t even turn around.

Hux’s annoyance with him quickly escalates into fury. 

“ _Supreme Leader!_ ” The General shouts as he slams his palms on the large table in the center of the room.

Kylo doesn’t budge.

“Starkiller 2 will be operational in just over a day,” he continues at a more reasonable volume. “With your permission, I’d like to use the weapon to take out Cantonica and the Concord Dawn system. That’ll cut the Resistance’s numbers in _half_. And it will show this galaxy the First Order does not tolerate rebellion under any circumstances.”

“No,” Kylo answers flatly. He still doesn’t turn around.

“ _Why not_?” Hux’s voice is shrill again.

“Because I did not become Supreme Leader to rule over an asteroid field.”

Hux lets out another burst of air. “With all due respect, if you don’t intend to use the weapon on Starkiller at a time like this, then why did we even bother building it?”

“Fear,” Kylo responds. “The people in this galaxy know what the weapon can do. They’ve seen it before.”

“Yes, well that doesn’t seem to be stopping half the systems under our control from falling into insurgency. Perhaps it’s time to remind them that the systems in this galaxy exist only under the First Order’s good graces. All others will be _pulverized_.”

“No,” Kylo repeats dispassionately. “We will not use the weapon. Not yet.”

Hux sighs, clearly reaching peak frustration.

“Then how should we respond to the Resistance’s upcoming attack? All of our sources tell us they’re planning an assault on our core forces, including _this ship_ , in three days.”

“Set course for Starkiller 2,” Kylo commands. “Call in our forces to join us there. _All of them_.”

“All of them?” Hux asks in disbelief.

“All of them.” 

Hux sputters. “I…” he begins hesitantly, “I realize that your background has not afforded you the privilege of becoming well-versed in large scale military strategy, so allow me to inform you that it is considered _an extremely bad idea_ to concentrate one’s entire military might in one place—”

Hux stops abruptly as his throat constricts. His hands fly up to his neck as he gasps for air.

Kylo Ren finally turns around to face him.

“General,” he begins as Hux croaks desperately, “You’re a fine military man. You’ve served me and the First Order well. But if you refuse to follow my orders, don’t think I’ll hesitate to dispose of you and find someone else who will.” After a few more seconds, he releases his hold on the General’s throat. He begins gasping, starved for gulps of air.

Hux simmers with rage. “As you wish, _Supreme Leader_.” The title somehow comes out like an insult when he says it.

The General turns a heel and quickly leaves the room. Kylo turns back towards the window.

 _So close_. He’s practically there already.

The six most powerful Sith artifacts in the galaxy and the six most powerful Jedi artifacts to match. All locked away safely in the archives. His knights haven’t mutinied yet. Most likely, they’re waiting until after the ritual.

Which works out perfectly for Kylo Ren. 

He just needs to bring the First Order forces together at Starkiller. Then it will be time. While the Resistance is busy attacking the fleet, he’ll be far away… on Mustafar, in Fralideja, inside his grandfather’s old stronghold. The planet where Obi Wan disfigured him. The planet where he became Darth Vader.

He will finish it there. Finally. He will finish what his grandfather started. He will bring true balance to the Force. He feels a weight slightly lift from his spirit just thinking about it.

The truth is he’s tired. He looks forward to it being over.

He needs to get this done as soon as possible. Before the Force bond… It’s only been two days. There’s always at least a six day wait in between. He’s been keeping track.

He should be able to finish this without seeing her again.

Just like that, the weight bears back down on him. Heavily.

There are certain things he does regret. He regrets that he’ll never see his mother again. He regrets that he’ll never be able to tell her… that there’s no way he can make up for what he’s done to her. But this is his way of trying. He regrets that it took him so long to see the truth of what he was meant to do—how he is destined to bring true balance to the Force. He regrets the destruction he wreaked on his way to figuring it out. All of the pain he caused. It still eats away inside of him, corroding his spirit more and more every day.

And he regrets that she’ll hate him all the way to the end. He’ll die with Rey hating him. He wishes things could be different. He wishes many things in his life had gone differently.

But this is the way things are. And with any luck, he’ll never know how she feels about what he does with the artifacts. He’ll never see her reaction to his plans. He can only hope that one day, many years down the road, she’ll see that he did the wrong things for the right reason. She may never forgive him. But maybe she’ll understand him. And perhaps she’ll see that in the end, he didn’t die a monster. Not really.

At least, that’s how he hopes things turn out.

His mind wanders back to the last time he saw her. It was like it always is. He’s alone in his room, or in his shuttle, or in the observation portal… and then he’s not. He’s with her, wherever she is. This time she was… asleep. In a very odd place. It seems to be a habit with her. He wasn’t sure what he should do. He didn’t want to scare her. He thought about not waking her at all.

He crouched down and inched towards her to sense how deeply she was sleeping. She clearly hadn’t been asleep for long and yet she was already dreaming. He felt how exhausted she was, though also serene, at peace. Against his better judgement, he slipped into her mind to see her dreams. At first he saw nothing. Only a warm blackness. He heard a heartbeat thrumming steadily, omnipresent, seeming to come from all around. He heard deep breathing, long and steady exhales. Then the blackness rippled. The perspective jostled for a moment. An image flashed. Her hand curled near her face, pressed against his chest. Wet eyelashes sticking to his uniform as they opened and closed.

She’s dreaming about that day in the cave. He couldn’t help but linger. The truth is, he dreams about it too. It felt good to learn he’s not alone in that.

Of course, he doubts she’ll dream about him now. Not after he betrayed her.

His stomach twists with guilt, a maddeningly persistent emotion. It was _extremely_ unfortunate but necessary. He trusts his gut, and his gut tells him that if he’d asked her for the Jedi texts outright, she would’ve refused. That left only one option. _Necessary_.

But he hates himself for the way he did it. He hates himself for not walking out of the room the moment he saw that she was sleeping. If only he hadn’t stopped to read her dreams… 

A change in the room snaps Kylo Ren out of thoughts. A feeling he’s come to know quite well over the past few weeks creeps upon him. He freezes.

 

Uh oh…

 

He turns around to be greeted by a searing white light. Instantly, he brings his right hand up to cover his eyes, but it’s already too late. He’s blind.

A second later, a knee strikes hard into his lower abdomen. He keels over as a sharp elbow strikes right where his neck meets his shoulders. His palms barely catch him before his face hits the floor. A swift, hard kick to the gut brings him all the way down.

Rey backs away. He tries to gather himself, to sense where’s she’s at. He pushes himself up to his knees and concentrates. The first thing he does is lock the door.

Now where is she…? Ahead, just to his left.

“No, I’m not.” He hears her voice behind him. Is she projecting? Or throwing her voice? He can’t tell.

He can’t sense her at all. It’s as if she’s invisible, even through the Force. 

“It’s called Force stealth.” She’s to his right. “It’s how I was able to sneak onto Cularin to steal the Darkstaff without you sensing my presence.” Now she’s on the left.

“I learned it from the Jedi texts. The ones you _stole_ from me.” He feels a force from above knock him off his knees to the ground.

She’s cloaked and he’s still blind. It’s a temporary blindness, but he needs to see _now_. He could heal himself if he could slide off his glove…

She Force-slams him across the floor into the wall behind him. He scrambles onto his palms and stands up slowly.

“Rey,” he begins. “I know you’re angry.”

She scoffs.

“Poor Ben… forever making the _wrong choice_.”

A strong tug at his feet, and he’s flat on his back on the hard floor. He winces in pain. He still can’t sense where she is… not through his physical senses… not through his Force senses. Her voice keeps moving in different directions all around him.

“I asked you upfront about the artifacts. You had a chance to tell me the truth. To ask me instead of take from me. But you chose the darker path, as you always do.”

Suddenly, he feels himself skid across the room and crash into another wall. Slowly, he reaches for his glove… he has _got_ to be able to see. 

“You made the _wrong choice_ when you met your father on Starkiller.” 

He turns into the wall as though he’s about to try to rise again.

“You made the _wrong choice_ after killing Snoke in the throne room.”

He begins to slip off his right glove.

“And you made the _wrong choice_ with me the other night.”

Again, she casts him across the room into another wall.

“You’re done making the wrong choice. You’re going to make the right choice right now. Bring me to the First Order archives.”

He brings his hand to his eyes and heals himself. She realizes what he’s doing too late. 

She tries to knock him across the room again but he brings a hand up to stop her before she can. He stands up and looks her in the eyes, his arm still extended towards her, trying to keep her still. Just as she begins to break free of his grip, he pulls her feet out from under her.

“Rey, I can’t take you to the archives,” he explains calmly.

She gets up and runs towards him. He slams her away, and she slides across the floor. On her back, she swings her legs around and hops up swiftly, crouching. “You’re bringing me to the archives.” She looks him dead in the eyes. “You’re giving me the Jedi texts, the Darkstaff, the crystal, and whatever else you have stashed in there.”

“No, I’m not,” he replies.

She stands and in one swift movement, she dislodges the table in the center of the room, flips it on it on its side, and sends it crashing into him.

For a minute, he’s pancaked between the wall and the table.

“Yes, you are,” she assures him. “This ends today. Your precious plans. This bond between us. If I have to break you to break it, I will.”

Finally, he pushes the table back. It clatters on the floor right side up in front of him. 

He looks at her. He’s never felt her so angry. She reminds him of himself right now, in a very bad way.

“Rey, stop,” he begs her.

As she raises a hand to push him back, he raises a hand to stop her. They stand, tense and concentrating, deadlocked. They can’t break each other.

“Rey, what do you feel right now?” He looks in her eyes intently, struggling to keep her at bay. 

“Stop trying to break my focus!” She hisses at him.

“You feel anger, like you’ve never felt it before, don’t you?”

She tries to ignore him, but he feels he’s getting to her.

“Coursing like a river of fire through your veins? It’s called Force rage. It’s when you channel intense fury to increase your speed and your strength. How else do you think you were able rip out a table that’s literally built into the floor?”

Finally, they release one another at the same time, both staggering back a bit.

Rey’s breathing heavily and looking down. She still feels angry, but also worried and confused.

“That’s not a skill you’d read about in the Jedi texts,” He says as he removes his other glove and casts it on the table. His tone is snide and foreboding.

She turns away from him and walks back a few paces. They’re both still panting. 

The room is silent for a minute. He feels her struggling to regain a sense of calm. 

“Rey—” 

“Shut up,” she spits at him without turning around. She’s trying to concentrate, to fully compose herself.

Suddenly, she spins around to face him. 

“I want to know, Ben. I want you to tell me right now. Why? What’s worth betraying me for, again and again? What’s worth destroying homes, cities, entire planets, just to get your hands on the artifacts? What’s worth putting the galaxy through all of this fear and pain and death—”

 

“ _I’m trying to save the goddamned galaxy!_ ” He doesn’t mean for this to come out as a shout but it does.

 

She looks at him with surprise and not a little doubt in her eyes.

“Well, you’re doing a bang-up job,” she says as she glares at him.

He sighs and looks away from her. They stand in silence.

“How did it feel?” He finally asks. He looks at her. “How did it feel to channel the Dark Side of the Force?”

She looks at him guarded. She feels ashamed.

He looks away, shaking his head. “It felt good at first, I bet. Like white hot control. Like nothing could stand in your way. How does it feel now?” He looks back at her, pointedly.

He knows exactly how it feels. Like the smallest drop of acid in your soul, eating away at you slowly but surely. 

“Rey,” he can’t stop the emotion from welling in his voice. “ _You are a victim_. And you are sinking further and further every single day. _I see it_.”

“I don’t understand what you mean,” she says, eyebrows knitting together. “I’m a victim of what? The Dark Side?”

Kylo looks down and takes a breath. “Rey, how long have you been using the Force?” he asks her.

She pauses to think. “Consciously? About a year, I guess.”

He looks at her sharply. “Do you know how long I’ve been using the Force?” She looks back at him, shrugging her shoulders. “My whole life. From birth, practically. I don’t ever remember being alive without sensing the Force, without feeling it course through me.”

Rey looks at him, waiting for him to continue.

“I know the Force very well. I’ve seen what it does to people. I’ve experienced it. I’ve learned about it. Centuries of unbalance, Sith and Jedi. It’s a corruption, Rey. The Force is a corruption in the souls of those who wield it.”

“Ben,” Rey says quietly. She’s calm now. “What you experienced with Snoke, that’s not the true nature of the Force. The corruption you’re talking about, that comes from the Dark Side.”

“No, it doesn’t,” he says ruefully, shaking his head. “You forget, I lived the first part of my life in the Light. And I saw then what the Force does to people before I ever met Snoke face to face. With my uncle, my mother… You see, those who try to wield the Light, they’re so dogmatic about it, so terrified that they or someone close to them will succumb to the darkness they fall right into its trap. And then others are simply ignorant and untrained, channeling the Force indiscriminately. Just like you. Remember? On Ahch-To with Luke? You went straight for the darkness. You didn’t even hesitate. And a few weeks ago in the cave? You channeled the darkness without even intending it, just because you wanted that crystal so desperately. And today, you let rage consume and strengthen you. You couldn’t help it, couldn’t stop it. You were too angry with me to control yourself.”

She’s looking out into nothing, lost in thought.

“This is what the Force does, Rey, to whoever uses it. If I learned anything valuable under Snoke, it’s this: There is no Dark side or Light side. There is only the Force. Only power. And power corrupts. Every time.”

Suddenly, her head snaps towards his. She gazes into him intently. He tries to keep her at bay, but his guard is down. He’s being too open, revealing too much…  She pierces right through his defenses, into the depths of his mind.

Finally, he casts her off, breathless.

“Six of the most powerful Sith artifacts and six Jedi to match,” she whispers to herself, looking down. “You’re going to destroy them. All of them. You’re going to destroy them and their power with them. That’s not what you’ve told your Knights, but that’s what you’re planning.” She’s still confused, working it out in her head.

She begins to put the pieces together… to see the whole picture. He can see it in her mind.

Six artifacts of each aspect. Each one containing centuries of power. Destroying any one of them would send waves rippling through the Force. Destroying all of them at once…

“It’s going to weaken the Force,” she says slowly. “To drain its power to the point that no one can channel it.”

She processes the realization, taking it in deliberately. “How long have you been planning to do this,” she asks, looking back over at him.

He hesitates. He’s not sure where to start.

“Snoke…” he begins, “Snoke came to me when I was very young as a whisper in my mind. He convinced me I was special, that I was the Chosen One. It wasn’t until I met him face to face that I discovered what he meant. He believed the Jedi misread the prophecy, and the Chosen One was destined to destroy the Jedi and reform the Sith. He believed the Force should not be understood as part Light and part Dark but only as power. He wanted me for my ability to channel both aspects at once. And he wanted the artifacts to merge them into six crystals containing the power of both the Light and the Dark, so the Knights of Ren could join me in wielding the Force as Snoke believed it was meant to be wielded. But…”

Kylo’s throat constricts. He closes his eyes and takes a breath. He tries to control his emotions. He needs to get through this.

“But after I killed my father to prove to him how fully committed I was to the cause, to prove that I could wield the Light aspect without falling prey to sentiment…” his voice trails off. The room is silent for a minute. 

“It took me a while to see,” he starts again with a hoarse voice, “to accept that my father was right, that Snoke was just using me for my power, twisting me to his purpose. But when I began to see, I began to see everything. I began to see the Force for what it truly is. I saw it in my life. I saw it in Luke’s. I saw it in my grandfather’s. I saw it in centuries upon centuries past when the Sith and Jedi tore apart the galaxy with their wars. The beings in this galaxy cannot wield the Force without using it to destroy. So much death has come from the struggle between Light and Dark… the Hundred-Year Darkness, the Jedi-Sith wars, the rise of the Empire, the rise of the First Order. Would any of this have happened if people were unable to wield the Force, unable to be corrupted by its power?”

Rey still listens to him intently.

He sighs as he returns her gaze. “I’m sorry, Rey. I wanted to tell you all this. I wanted to ask you for the Jedi texts, not steal them from you. But I was afraid you wouldn’t understand. It’s time for it to end. The Sith. The Jedi. All schools of the Force. It’s time to truly bring peace and balance to the galaxy… to set everyone free from the Force and its corrupting influence.”  

She looks away from him, lost deep in her thoughts. He tries to read her, but her emotions are too tumultuous. It’s impossible to sense how she’s taking all of this.

It feels like forever before she speaks again.

“Ben,” she starts almost in a whisper. “ _No._ ”

His heart drops. He knew he should have trusted his instincts. He knew she wouldn’t understand.

“No,” she repeats more firmly. “I know I haven’t used the Force for as long as you have. And I know I have a lot to learn. But the Force in itself isn’t a corruption. It’s only in how some people choose to use it—”

“ _But that’s exactly my point_ ,” Kylo interrupts her. “Too many people who use the Force make the wrong choice. You said it yourself. People like me—we make the wrong choice, and _millions_ suffer for it.”

Rey shakes her head. “You’re not considering the whole picture. You’re just focusing on the parts you want to see. The Jedi brought centuries of peace to the galaxy. Through the Force, they expanded our knowledge of life, of the universe itself, to an extent no one thought possible. Think of the advances they brought with them… in healing, in technology, in understanding the mind.”

“Where are the Jedi now?” Kylo asks assertively. “They’re all dead,” he answers before she can. “For all their power, all their advancements, they couldn’t stop the Sith from devouring the galaxy in darkness. In fact, it happened right under their noses, through one of their own. Ask yourself, Rey… if there were no Jedi, would there be a Sith? If there were no Anakin Skywalker, would there be a Darth Vader?”

Rey sighs. “I understand why you believe you’re doing the right thing, I really do. In fact, I’m even proud of you for being able to finally disentangle yourself from Snoke’s web. I know that couldn’t have been easy. But you’re wrong about the Force, Ben. It’s not a corruption. It’s a gift. It’s pure hope—”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says forcefully, interrupting her. “I know the Force. I feel it corroding my spirit more and more every day—”

“But your experience isn’t everyone’s experience, Ben” she interrupts him emphatically. “For you, the Force has been a corruption, but for me? It changed my life. It gave my life meaning beyond just survival. Because of the Force, I finally feel like I belong to something bigger than myself. I know that I’m part of a larger story; I just don’t know how. All I know is that I’m no longer powerless, and through the Force I can show others that they aren’t powerless either. Think of the little boy I told you about, the slave on Cantonica who healed my friend. One day I asked him if his powers scared him, if he wished he was just a normal boy. Do you know what he told me? He told me that he never wishes he were normal because if he were then my friend would be dead. He wants to use his powers to help people, to defend them against those like the slavers who treat others like property.”

Kylo grunts, turning away from Rey. “You know, my grandfather was almost rejected by the Jedi order when Obi Wan brought him in to be trained. Do you know why?” 

Rey doesn’t say anything.

“It wasn’t just because he was too old. It was because he had been a slave. The Jedi Order believed that slavery naturally fostered emotions that lead to the Dark side—anger and resentment. And they were right. Anakin was never able to control his anger against those who preyed on the weak and downtrodden. He was never able to curb his resentment towards the wealth gap in certain sectors in this galaxy. In the end, he lost himself in his anger and his fear. This little boy you speak of… how do you know the same won’t happen to him? He was raised to see the very worst that beings in this galaxy are capable of. Do you think he’ll ever truly outgrow the resentment and anger these experiences have infected him with? Do you think these emotions won’t cloud his judgement, his use of the Force as he grows older?” 

“That’s his choice to make, not yours,” Rey responds firmly. “You’re being just like Luke right now. Just like how Master Skywalker made your choice for you when he tried to kill you in your sleep, you’re taking away Jian’s choice before he has a chance to make it for himself.”

Kylo sighs. How can he make her understand?

“If I’ve learned anything being part of the slave rebellion over the past two weeks, “Rey continues, “It’s that people in this galaxy need hope. They need to know that there is a chance for them, that there is a Force bigger than them that can protect them, that can help them not feel so alone and powerless.” She looks out at Kylo beseechingly. “Please don’t do this. There has to be a better way to bring balance.”

“ _This is_ the way. The only way to bring a true, lasting balance,” he says calmly but firmly. He turns away from her. They stand in silence.

He hears Rey breathing behind him. She’s searching her mind for another way to persuade him…

“So… after you do this, what then? There will still be the First Order. Are you just going to disassemble it… or blow it up?”

For a split second, he turns to give her a knowing look. Her eyebrows shoot up in shock.

“Oh wow…” It’s extremely difficult to read her reaction to this when she’s processing so much at once, but he does sense bewilderment, relief, and maybe even admiration? 

“And then, what about you?” She continues. “The Force has been with you your whole life, as you say. How will you live without it?”

He doesn’t turn. He tenses and tries to keep his mind clear. But she reads him anyway. He feels her stomach drop, almost as if it were his own, and a hollow, gnawing feeling in her chest.

 

“Doing this is going to kill you.”

 

She tries to catch her breath, but the feeling in her stomach won’t go away. She begins to step towards him with wide, pleading eyes, “ _Ben, no._ ”

He steps back instinctively. She stops. 

But then Kylo realizes something.

He has nothing left to hide from her. No more secrets. No need to constantly guard his thoughts, to keep her at bay. Nothing left to conceal.

He steps towards her. Now she backs away, a little surprised. But she doesn’t break her gaze, not even when he steps right in front of her, close enough for her to feel his body heat. 

“Ben, this isn’t worth sacrificing your life.” Rey’s voice breaks as she speaks. She can’t stop tears from escaping her eyes. She’s shaking a little. He brings a hand to her face and wipes her tears away. He lets it slide down to rest on her shoulder, his thumb still tracing her lower jaw.

He can’t help but be surprised. He never guessed she’d be so upset over him dying. Then, for the first time, he feels it rising up inside him like a warm glow. He hasn’t felt something like this in over a decade.

 

She loves him too.

 

Immediately, he leans down and captures her lips with his own, one hand behind her head, the other behind her waist, drawing her closer. She kisses back, tentatively at first, sliding both hands up along the sides of his body. As their kisses grow more passionate, they both feel a strange sense of relief, like a heavy tension is releasing all around them as the fire between them burns hotter. They grasp and grab at one another for a minute, mouths opening into each other, before Kylo suddenly picks Rey up by her waist and sets her on the table beside them.

They both breath heavily for a few moments. They’re eye to eye now. He leans into her, forehead resting on hers, hands circling her hips. Both of her hands frame his face, fingers curled behind his ears, thumbs at his cheeks.

“Ben,” Rey whispers, shaking her head slightly. “Don’t do this. Please don’t do this. We can find a better way to achieve balance. I’ll help you.” 

He sighs and shakes his head. His eyes are closed. 

“And your mother,” she continues. “She’ll want to see you. You have no idea, Ben, how happy she’ll be that you freed yourself from Snoke’s influence.” 

He pulls back and looks her in the eyes. Her hands drop to her sides. “No, Rey,” he asserts calmly but forcefully. “I know I’m doing the right thing. Everything I’ve experienced in my life, everything my grandfather experienced, brought me _right here_. I _need_ to do this. You’ll see. Everything will be better after I do this. You’re going to survive, Rey, and rebuild this galaxy. And when you do, you’re going to see that things are better, more peaceful, without people wielding the Force.” 

She sighs and looks away. She’s still searching her mind for a way to talk him out of this… but she isn’t coming up with much. She looks back at him. He reads her like a book—her disapproval of his interpretation of the prophecy, her frustration with his refusal to bend, her grief that this may be the last time she sees him. Her heart actually aches at the thought.

He’ll never understand it. How he can disagree with someone so fundamentally, and yet love her so much. 

Kylo leans in and brings his lips to hers again softly. He pulls at her hips to bring her to him, pressing her body against his chest. She wraps her arms around his back, returning his embrace.

As they kiss, his hand travels up her waist, under her shirt. Her skin is soft and smooth. He grips her and pulls her in to him more tightly, practically lifting her off the table. She wraps her legs around him, hands at his back, pressing herself against him.   

For a few minutes, they both focus on this one thing they have in common, their love, their powerful attraction and connection through the Force.

Suddenly, Rey pulls away from him. He looks down at her uncertain, trying to read her. She feels heartache, a straining tension between how she feels about him and how she feels about what he intends to do.

He looks deep into her eyes as he assures her, “What I’m doing is best for the galaxy.”

Her gaze flits away for a moment. Then she turns back to him with a solemn look on her face.

“You know I’m going to try to stop you, right?” She says this more like a statement than a question.

He looks directly back at her. “I really wish you wouldn’t.”

They both stare intently at one another in silence. 

“Rey,” he says with a warning in his voice, “please stay out of my way. I don’t want to hurt you, but…” his voice trails off. He can’t even say it. He’s even less certain he can actually do it.

She doesn’t break her gaze. He can feel her resolve. She’s not backing down.

“We’ll see each other again,” she assures him softly. Then just like that, she disappears before his eyes.

He stands, cold and alone, in the empty room. He focuses on his breathing, still faster than normal. He brings his hand to his face and turns towards the window, thinking. Slowly, a sense of alarm begins to rise in his belly, up through his chest and into his throat. He turns swiftly to exit the room.

He needs to move up his timeline.

After seeing anger consume Rey today, he’s more confident than ever that he’s doing the right thing. He won’t let her become corroded as he has. He’s going to save her, and give her a peaceful galaxy to live in. She’ll still find purpose and happiness without the Force. He feels certain of that.

He feels a twist in his heart.

He wishes he can share in her happiness, that there was another way to do this… another option. But she made it very clear to him today that there is only one option.

Still, it is a sweet surprise, a final parting gift to know that he won’t die with Rey hating him. Just the opposite. Despite all their differences, despite her disapproval of his actions, both past and present, she loves him.

It’s certainly not something he deserves.

He thinks about Rey. He thinks about the difference between how they felt about each other when they first met and how they feel about each other now. He thinks about the role the Force has played in this evolution.

For just a second, he feels a chink of doubt crack through his resolve.

But he banishes the thought immediately.

 

 


	11. The Chosen One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey attempts to stop Ben from executing his plans on Mustafar and fulfill her own destiny as the Living Word.

“Approaching target for strike two.”

 

“Right behind you, Poe.”

“Me too.”

“I’m with you.”

 

The calm confidence in Poe’s gut strengthens every time he hears another voice chime in on the other end of his comm.

A tight formation of X-wing Starfighters descends upon the nearest Dreadnought.

“Shields are still up, so focus on the cannons,” Poe reminds everyone. “I’m going for the reactor core.”

“No word from Finn? We can’t blow up cannons forever.” Hala sounds anxious.

“When I know, you’ll know,” Poe assures her. The truth is, he’s worried too. For more reasons than one. They had to move up their attack on Starkiller 2 after they discovered the First Order’s plan to destroy the Concord Dawn system. That really put Finn and his team under the gun. Then, they arrived to find their intel hadn’t adequately prepared them for the number of First Order forces that would be here. It seems like every damn Dreadnaught and Star Destroyer in the entire fleet is crowded around this ugly, mechanized weapon-planet. 

But Poe can honestly say he’s faced worse odds. Despite all logic, his signature smug self-assurance is undeterred.

As they swoop down on the steely grey Dreadnought, he hears a sensor go off to his right. A large cluster of unidentified aircraft is approaching quickly. 

“We’ve got company,” Pavan warns the group.

“Cam and Vido, come with me to take out those TIE fighters. Everybody else—keep going for the cannons.” Hala and her crew veer sharply to the right. The rest of them fan out over the wide expanse of the ship, exploding cannons right and left. Except for Poe. He’s dead center and going straight for the reactor. It’s a long shot… most would say an impossible shot. But that’s never stopped him before. 

As he approaches, his sensor zeroes in on the target… almost there…. That’s it! He takes the shot… but it misses. Expertly, he maneuvers up just in time to avoid crashing into a large side panel on the Dreadnought. He veers to the left and begins taking out an oncoming cadre of TIE fighters.

“Hala, how many fighters do you have left?” Poe barely gets the question out, tucking and diving towards another enemy craft just below.

“Hala’s gone, Poe. We’ve got eight and more on the way,” Vido responds.

Poe’s heart drops. He’s never gotten used to it… hearing he lost a good friend forever, just like that, in a split second.

“I’m coming around for a second shot at that reactor.” Adrenaline coursing through him, he suddenly maneuvers up and around to the center of the ship.

“Yes! _Yes!_ Look at that! Look at that!” Shin’s voice blasts through his comm.

“Whoa, what’s going on?"

“Shields are down! Shields are down!” Shin repeats. 

“Alright guys, now the fun begins,” Poe tells his squad. _Atta boy, Finn._

“Whoa…it looks like all of them are down,” he hears Faisal.

“What do you mean all of them?” Poe asks confused.

“Seriously, it’s all of them,” Cam confirms. “I can see it. Our squads are moving in on Dreadnoughts and Star Destroyers all over the place.” 

Damn… he didn’t know Finn was that good. It seems improbable he’d be able to shut down the entire fleet’s shields at once, but Poe’s never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth.  

This makes it ten times more likely that a shot near the reactor will lead to a chain reaction reaching the core. He’s coming up on it again… just a little closer… little more… _Now!_ This time, the shot takes. 

“Alright boys and girls, this one’s going down. On to the next one!” Poe declares triumphantly.

“Holy shit…”

“What?” But Poe sees it right after the question escapes him. All around him Dreadnoughts and Star Destroyers are exploding in billows of fire bursting from within.

“Whoa… is this us? Are we doing this?” Poe’s bewildered. This is a welcome development, but what the…?

“Poe.”

Suddenly he hears General Leia’s voice on the other end of his comm.

“Poe, you and your squad need to get out of there now.” 

“Are you kidding me?” Poe asks, incredulous. “If their shields are down out here, it could be happening on the ground on Starkiller 2. This is our chance. We’ve gotta get down there.”

“No. That planet is about to implode. It’s already started. You need to get away from it as soon as you can.” 

“What?! Is that because of us? What the hell is going on?”

“It’s not us, it’s…” the General pauses for a second. “It’s Kylo Ren.” 

Poe lets out a scoff of disbelief. “Are you telling me the Supreme Leader of the First Order just destroyed his own fleet and super weapon?”

“Yes,” Leia replies emphatically. “And if you don’t get your squad out of there now, all of you will be destroyed with them. _Get_. _Out_. _Now_.”

Dazed, Poe switches his comm connection. 

“Alright guys,” he tells the others. “General just told me Starkiller 2 is destabilizing. Orders are to get out now. But feel free to take out any TIE fighters on your way.”

He switches connection back to the General, “Are you sure about this? Are you sure this is Kylo Ren?”

“I didn’t believe it either when Rey told me,” the General answers. “But I believe what I’m seeing right now. Starkiller is collapsing, the fleet is imploding, and we hardly did a thing. I don’t know how else to explain it.”

“ _Where is Rey?_ ”

 

…

 

 

Rey races across the gritty, rocky earth, heart pounding in her chest. This place is exactly how she imagined a volcanic planet would be like—sweltering heat crushing in all around her, putrid smell of sulfur clinging to her nose, her hair, her skin. She’s panting, each breath inviting a giant gulp of rotten air into her lungs. But she feels strong and full of energy.

She slept like a baby last night. For the first time in weeks.

No dreams about suffering. No dreams about despair. No dreams about abandoned children, families torn apart, men chained like animals, beings crying out to her in jungles and forests and deserts on planets across the galaxy.

Only a deep sleep. And an uncanny peacefulness … like being suspended, weightless and warm, curled in a ball inside of a calm and steady womb. And the whispers. 

“You are the Living Word. And when the time is right, you will know what to do.”

Everything’s coming to a head. She can feel the urgency steadily rising within her… it’s almost time. But for what, she still doesn’t know. 

She’s stopped trying to figure it out, all of it, incessantly reworking the pieces of the puzzle in her mind. She’s letting her feelings guide her. Her instincts. Somehow, she knows it’s the right thing to do. And, to her surprise, she’s finding that if she follows her intuition, she gets closer and closer to the truth, to finding out what all of this means.  

Like yesterday. With Ben. She knew in the moment it was the best way to show him that he’s wrong about the Force. It can be a gift. And then they both experienced it together—the unthinkable concentration of power when they become one, the ability to at once limitlessly draw upon the Force and melt into it indistinguishably. It was like when he healed her in the cave, but more. It’s not just that they could combine powers… they could actually dissolve into the Force.

They can do that for a reason. But Rey doesn’t know what it is yet. She only knows what she felt.

And she knows he felt it too. She knows she planted a strong seed of doubt in his mind. But it hasn’t had much time to grow. Not much time at all.

She sees it up ahead of her… impossibly tall, made completely of thick, glossy obsidian. Darth Vader’s old stronghold, built into the largest volcano on the planet. It’s been abandoned for decades but it’s not empty. Not right now. She senses the power of the artifacts. And him. But he won’t sense her. She’s cloaked again. If he feels her coming, he’ll start to rush.

Even still, she’s running out of time. 

Suddenly, she hears her comm crackle. She grabs it from her waist, pumping ahead at full speed.

“Rey…” She hears General Leia’s voice on the other end. “It’s happening, just like you said it would. I… I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”

Cold fear washes over her. _She might be too late…_

“Rey…” The emotion in the General’s voice is unmistakable, even over the shaky comm connection. 

Rey doesn’t have time for this. But she knows exactly what Leia needs to hear right now. She jerks the comm to her lips.

“General, I promise you I will do everything in my power to make sure you see your son again. Do you believe in me?”

“ _Yes._ Yes, Rey. I do. _Go_!”

She shoves the comm back into place. 

She means what she told the General. She’s not going to kill Ben. He can’t die. He has to live… they have a destiny to fulfill. Together. She doesn’t know what it is yet, but she knows what she feels through their bond— purpose. The Force awakened in her for a reason. It brought her together with Ben for a reason. She doesn’t have to fully understand it to have faith in it. She has faith in the Force. She has faith in her conviction that Ben is wrong. People need the Force. They need the hope it brings, the sense of possibility. They need to believe that there is a power greater than themselves, a power that can bring change, that can make their lives better. Take away people’s ability to access this power and you take away more than their ability to abuse it. You take away their ability to grow through it. To discover new truths about life, about the galaxy. You take away people’s ability to truly understand that each life is not an aimless, individual speck… each life belongs to a larger tapestry of all life in the galaxy, an interweaving of millions of destinies into one.

Rey almost slips as she begins running up the obsidian ramp to the entrance of the castle. When she bursts into the wide room, she beelines across it straight to the corridor on the right side. When she emerges into a second room, she races for the long, winding staircase in the middle. It leads straight up to the heart of the volcano.

She’s never been here, yet she knows exactly where to go.

Her feet pound up the twisting stairs, around and around and around. She gets dizzy racing up them at this speed, but she never slows down. She’s running so fast that she doesn’t see the black mass huddled near the top of the staircase. She trips right over it, landing hard on her palms. She scrambles up and looks back. 

One of the Knights of Ren. Clearly dead, a large opening in the center of her body. A lightsaber wound. 

Another dead Knight lies just ahead of her. And another. 

Rey runs along the wide, open overpass leading straight into the volcano. It’s even hotter up here, if that’s possible. She’s soaked in sweat, clothes clinging uncomfortably to her. 

Four… Five…

She keeps count as she runs past their lifeless bodies.

Six.

All six Knights are dead. He truly is set on taking everything with him when he goes… the entire First Order fleet, the Starkiller weapon, the Knights of Ren… everything that’s been responsible for the reign of terror across this galaxy is gone. Except for him. He’s still here.

She begins to slow down. She’s here. He hasn’t begun yet… there’s still time.

She stands for a moment, closing her eyes, trying to slow her heartbeat, her breathing. She imagines she’s in last night’s dream, curled in the fetal position, weightless and peaceful. She feels the Force thrumming inside of and all around her. A calm stillness begins to overtake her, starting from her heart and spreading out all the way through her limbs. She breathes deeply and deliberately.

Still in Force stealth, she starts to carefully walk forward through the rocky, arch-shaped entrance into the core of the volcano. 

The image she sees before her is both familiar and surreal. She’s seen it so many times since she first touched Jian on Cantonica… in visions and dreams… but now she’s actually here. She’s standing here… hard, black grit under her feet, bits of ash drifting through the air, spurts of molten lava pushing up through small cracks in the ground.

He’s standing ahead in the distance between two rows of short columns, back turned to her and head bowed. She sees the crystal, the Darkstaff, the Jedi Texts, and nine others… one artifact on each column, Sith on the left, Jedi on the right. 

He’s dead center. His arms are at his sides. His focus is razor sharp, almost as if he’s in a trance. She sees his fingers begin to gradually widen and extend out. Slowly, he raises his arms on either side of him, palms open to the artifacts. He’s about to begin… 

“Ben.” 

She says the words softly. His head jerks up immediately, and he swiftly turns to face her. His expression is even and calm, belying his emotions. She senses the contradictions tearing through him… panic and relief, anger and peace of mind. He’s infuriated she managed to get here in spite of his rushed timeline. And yet he’s glad to see her anyway.

He walks towards her. She walks towards him. They don’t break eye contact.

“Don’t do this.” She looks at him intently. “What you’re doing… it isn’t balance. It’s just more destruction.”

He lets out a burst of air.

“Always so sure of yourself…” His tone is condescending. “A student of the Force for _one year_ , and yet you think you know better than I how to achieve balance. Tell me, what gives a girl who knows so little about the Force—its history and its usage—such confidence, such self-righteous certainty?”

 

_You are the Living Word._

 

She gives him an almost sly, half smile. “It’s who I am.”

His eyes darken. “No, it’s not. I’ve already told you who you are. You’re nobody. You come from nothing. I’m the Chosen One, heir of the Skywalker legacy. I know the Force better than anyone living. And I know what needs to be done.”

She takes a step towards him. “If I’m no one, then why am I so powerful? If you’re so important and I’m so insignificant, why did the Force bind us together, grant us the ability to combine our power, to become one with each other and the Force?”

Ah… there it is. The seed of doubt. He’s struggling with it, struggling against it… but he cannot deny the truth of what they experienced together. For the first time, he looks away. Then he looks back, taking a step towards her.

“Maybe you’re right.” Her eyes widen in surprise at his words. She feels her heart quicken with hope.

“I’ll die if I do this by myself,” he continues. “But if you do it with me, we’ll both live.”

Her heart drops.

“We can be together, _we can survive this together_ , if you’d just stop being so stubborn, open your eyes, and accept the truth of what I’ve told you. The Force is a corruption. It’s destroyed this galaxy through those who wield it. It’s time for the destruction to end.”

He extends a gloved hand towards her.

“This is the last time I’m going to ask you,” he intones quietly. “It's time to let old things die. The Sith... the Jedi... all schools of the Force. Join me, and together we can bring balance to the galaxy.”

As he speaks the familiar words, Rey looks down, a heavy weight bearing on her spirit. Not again… she doesn’t want to be in this position _again_. She sighs and looks back up at him.

“ _Please_ ,” he begs her.

She closes her eyes as tears spill over her cheeks. Her heart is breaking. She can’t look at him right now. 

Then she feels it. A chink in her resolve. What if he’s right? What if _this_ is what they’re destined to do together? The Force… she still knows so little…

_You are the Living Word._

She exhales sharply and opens her eyes. It’s not time yet. If it were, she would know. She can sense his disappointment. He reads her resolve… he knows where this is going. She unsheathes her lightsaber.  

“ _Rey_ ,” his voice is heavy, his eyes are pleading. “Please don’t make me do this.”

She turns it on, the electric humming breaking the silence.

He lets out a long exhale and closes his eyes. Reluctance overwhelms him, blocking out all other emotions. His shoulders slump. He hates what he has to do next.

He opens his eyes and unsheathes his weapon, stomping the ground as he turns it on.  

They glare at each other, both furious and heartbroken that the other refuses to bend.

Kylo twirls his lightsaber once and moves to the right, beginning to circle her. She moves to the right as well, circling away from him. Their eyes are still deadlocked. They move around one another, each guarded and alert.

In an instant, Rey brings her free hand up and releases a blinding flash of light. But Kylo senses her intent and looks away, closing his eyes just in time.

He lunges towards her and she towards him, his red blade clashing with the blue edge of her saber. They push against one another, glaring. Suddenly, he forces her back and she stumbles. He snatches her free arm and jerks her to his chest, twisting it behind her back. He clutches her body tightly with one arm, lightsaber still on and burning hot next to her face and his. She switches hers off, tensing and fighting to break free of his grip.

“Rey, I _do not_ want to hurt you,” he growls as he tries to hold her still. Pressing her twisted arm hard between her back and his chest, he begins to extend his free hand over her head.

For a moment, she panics. He’s going to try to knock her out like he did when they first met on Takodana. 

Immediately, she closes her eyes and concentrates on the Force flowing through her. She feels her mind grow calm and rock solid. She’s not the defenseless girl she was then. He can’t break through. 

She’s not fighting his grip now. She’s tranquil and focused. As he tries to pierce her mind, she concentrates on him, his urgency… he’s so preoccupied with his objective, his guard is down. She feels herself melt into him, melt into his mind.

A second later, he loosens his hold on her body and she wrenches away, his muscles momentarily acting outside his will. She bursts forward several paces and turns back towards him. She feels his shock… and then his anger.

In one swift motion, he reaches out and she feels her throat constrict. No air can get in. She resists the urge to bring her hands up to her neck. Instead, she raises a hand and Force-slams him back, releasing his grip on her. She takes in a big gulp of air as he scrambles to his feet.

She senses his growing impatience.

He charges towards her, lightsaber drawn. He twirls his blade swiftly at his side, then thrusts it precisely towards her chest. She tucks and rolls behind him, then shoots up to bring the red side of her blade to meet his. Before he can push her back, she ducks and swings the other side of her blade towards his body.

He sidesteps away adeptly and whirls his saber around to hit the right side of her blade, causing it to graze and burn her upper arm. She lets out a hiss of pain, crouching down and fueling the Force to propel her upwards, flipping over his head. As she sails over him, he pivots around to meet her with another precise strike before she lands.

They go like this for a while, him thrashing and thrusting with hard, precise hits and her tucking and rolling and flipping, dodging some strikes and fending off others, twirling her lightsaber around her, taking every opportunity to return his strikes with her own. Their senses are heightened to the point that they can almost detect the other’s move before they make it so that every strike is easily met with a dodge or a fence. They’re neck and neck, equally matched…

Rey’s expending twice as much energy as he is with constant swift, agile movements— tumbling, back flipping, and jumping—and yet he’s the one who’s beginning to tire. She can sense him fighting back exhaustion. She’s starting to suspect he hasn’t slept since the last time she saw him.

But his fierce resolve, his fiery sense of purpose drives him onward. As her arm stretches behind her in preparation for another blow, he gives a hard, swift kick to the center of her chest. She flies backs and lands with a thud, sliding towards a pool of molten lava. She grinds her palms into the dirt, sharp grit making tiny slices in her skin, stopping herself just in time. She tries to get up, but finds that she can’t move.

Ben stands a few paces ahead of her, arm extended, holding Rey in place. She fights him as he pushes her ever so slightly towards the lava. She grits her teeth and groans with effort, trying to break through his hold. She balls her hands into fists, pushing them like anchors into the ground, but she’s so close to the lava she feels her skin begin to burn. She cries out as she watches the flesh on the back of her hands turn red.

Finally, she casts him off and scrambles to her feet. Without thinking, she closes her eyes and projects a copy of herself next to him. He knows it’s a trick, yet it distracts him long enough for her to pull his feet right out from under him. As he lies flat on his back, she charges towards him. He sits up quickly to Force-slam her back before she can reach him.

Rey flips up onto her feet. For a moment, they stare at each other, crouching and breathing heavily.

They’ve both been holding back. But the time for playing nice is quickly coming to an end.

Suddenly, he stands and turns his back to her. _What is he doing?_

Just as suddenly, he whips back around and a ball of energy like a tiny electric storm comes flying straight towards her. She doesn’t dodge it in time. When it hits her, shocks of blinding pain course through her body, bringing her down to the floor, writhing helplessly. It couldn’t have lasted longer than a few seconds, but it felt like hours, every moment introducing a new agony the likes of which she’s never felt before. Just as she recovers enough to try to push herself back up, another burst of pain explodes inside her, causing her to curl up shuddering and quivering on the floor again.

Tears stream down her face as the electric jolts finally die down. She’s on her side, desperately gasping for a full breath but she can only manage sharp, short inhales. She whimpers in pain as she places a trembling palm on the earth to push herself up.

She looks ahead of her. He’s kneeling on one knee with his head bowed, face in his palm. It slides down his face as he looks up at her. He’s crying too. He extends a hand out to try to hold her in place once more.

“Rey, please, this is _killing_ me.” His eyes are pained and desperate. 

She would scoff if she could breathe properly. Killin _g him?_

Her body is weakened but her mind is not. She concentrates, glaring at him, chipping away at his control over her. Slowly but surely, she breaks through and gets back up on her feet.

Ben lets his hand drop beside his body, still on one knee. He looks down and shakes his head. Then he stands and switches his lightsaber on, striding towards her.

Her feet are firmly planted. She’s unmoving, eyes closed. She lets herself be calm, even though she’s still shaking and her heart’s still racing and she can hear him getting closer and closer. She focuses on the Force thrumming inside her, filling her with a sense of peace and purpose. Suddenly, she feels a surge of energy course through her.

She opens her eyes, switching on her lightsaber and bursting forward. He’s almost to her. Twirling her lightsaber around her, she leaps up before him and strikes down with her blade. He catches it with his saber. They resume their game of thrash and dodge, though with less vigor. She’s weakened and he’s exhausted.

She twirls her lightsaber around to meet his to his left, then swings it around to fend him off on the right. She bends and launches herself up into the air… and she sees it again. An opening. The one she keeps seeing and letting pass by.

This time, she takes it.

As his arm stretches high above his head, saber gripped tightly for another strike, she swings her saber towards it and cuts his hand clean off.

He roars out in pain and shock, falling to his knees. His hand, still gripping the saber, falls just behind him. She lands right next to it and takes a step back as he groans and hisses.  He turns on his knees, eyes full of rage, and dives for his saber with his remaining hand. He switches it on and lunges towards her. She rears back and then strikes forward, aiming for his left shoulder… but he’s rising swiftly as she strikes, so instead she drives her saber directly into his lower chest.

Rey is right in front of him, looking up into his eyes as they widen in disbelief. His mouth gapes open and he lets out a small gasp. Then he falls back, collapsing onto the earth.

 

Rey’s body goes cold. For a second, everything seems to stop—her senses, her breathing, the blood pumping through her veins. She can’t feel or hear anything.

“No,” the word escapes as a whisper.

“ _No!_ ” This time her loud, anguished cry reverberates through the volcano as she drops to her knees beside him.

He’s still alive, but he’s fading fast. Rey can already hear his heartbeat slowing. She extends a hand out over the wound on his chest but doesn’t touch it. It’s bad… it’s _really_ bad.

She doesn’t know what to do. A panic rises in her belly, overtaking her. She’s starting to shiver with terror. Tears are streaming down her face.

He’s laying on his back, hands just under his wound, croaking as he tries to breath, only shallow, half-breaths.

“No. _No, no, no, no no_.” She’s shaking her head as she starts to sob. She crawls up next to his head and gently lifts it, putting it on her lap. With one hand, she’s smoothing back his hair, with the other, she’s caressing his cheek. Tears are pouring down her face and dripping on to him.

“I didn’t mean to. I didn’t mean to,” she keeps repeating the words, sobbing and shaking violently.

“I know, I know.” He can barely reply. He’s trying to breathe, but it’s getting harder and harder. His eyes lift up to meet hers. He’s scared. But also strangely relieved.

He’s dying. She can feel his Life Force start to leave him. He’s dying and she has no idea what to do.

She squeezes her eyes shut as her sobs intensify. This can’t be happening. This wasn’t how things were supposed to happen. This wasn’t how their story were supposed to end.   

Then, for a moment, it’s like time stops. The whole planet, the whole galaxy freezes around her. In her mind’s eye, she sees waves on the oceans towering and still, birds halted mid-flight in the air, and people frozen in place in a once boisterous marketplace. 

Then it enters her. Actually, it comes from within her—truth. Living, breathing truth welling up inside her, filling her with a calm, warm certainty. It’s like it was there all along, hiding, waiting for the right time to release itself.

The chorus of whispers rises in the back of her mind, at first indistinguishable, but then crystal clear.

 

“You are the Living Word. And the time is _now_.”

 

She begins to extend her hand towards Ben’s wound.

He grabs her wrist with his remaining hand and looks up at her, eyes wild and terrified.

“ _Don’t_.” He gasps desperately.

He senses it. She’s about to do a lot more than try to heal him. He’s not sure what, but he’s knows he’ll disapprove. Vehemently. 

“Ben,” Rey’s panting, her voice desperate. “You’re almost out of time. I can’t explain it to you; I can’t explain how I know, but I know what I need to do. I know what _we_ need to do.”

Still holding his head in her lap, she brings her hand back to his cheek.

“You were right… you were right all this time. It’s time for the Jedi to end. For the Sith to end. You _are_ the Chosen One. You were meant to do this, to bring these artifacts here, to begin this… but we’re meant to finish it.” She feels his reluctance, his distrust of her…

 She’s trembling, tears streaming down her face. “ _Please_. Please. Think about the bond. Think about what you felt with me yesterday. I know you felt it to. What’s happening between us…. It’s bigger than love. It’s bigger than just us. We’re bonded together for this moment, _right now_.” His eyelids begin to droop as she speaks. He struggles to fully open them to return her gaze. She begins to sob even harder.

“Please. _Please,_ Ben. Just this once… _have faith in me_.”

For a moment, everything around them melts away. It’s just them, experiencing their own emotions and the other’s all at once, her urgency and desperation, his fear and distrust. As she stares down into him, she begins to concentrate on how much she loves him. A man she should hate, but instead she sees his humanity—his instinctive kindness and compassion, instincts that that are so deeply rooted in him that they’ve survived years of him channeling darkness. She wants him to feel this. She lets her feelings pour into him, overwhelming him.

His eyes burn with longing and love. Finally… _finally_ … he gives her a small nod.

She immediately extends her hand over his wound and closes her eyes. She’s never done this before, but the living, breathing truth inside guides her. She’s halfway there already. She lets the love she feels for him course through her, imbuing it with the Force, and then she channels it into him.

At first, nothing happens. Then, she feels it begin to seep into her… Ben’s power. Just as he did when he healed her in the cave, she draws from his power as well as her own to heal him.

Relief washes over her as she feels his Life Force coming back, his heartbeat returning to normal.

As she heals him, their immense power concentrates into one. Then, she raises her other hand and extends it towards the artifacts next to her.

It happens again… their souls seem to merge, as if they are a single, incredibly powerful Force-sensitive being. They melt into each other and into the Force. It’s as if they no longer have physical bodies but are just spirits, one spirit— the Force.

They are raw power… power that is growing stronger and stronger. They both feel it. The Force rising and thickening, filling the air around them, more and more. It’s surging and turbulent, electric and vibrant with new life. It’s so much power that it almost feels as if it is about to burst, expanding outward so rapidly that the entire universe isn’t enough to contain it.

Then, in an instant, the Force ebbs, releasing all around them. Slowly, their souls unmerge. They are individuals again—Rey and Ben.

Rey breathes heavily as she opens her eyes. She looks down at him. He looks up at her, relieved but also confused. Uncertain. Slowly, he sits up and inspects his body, touching where the mortal wound once was. He takes a deep breath. Then, he struggles to rise, clutching his injured arm into his chest.

Once he’s upright, he walks over to the columns and stands in the center of them. Rey remains seated back on her feet. The artifacts are all gone, as if they disappeared into the Force. She watches him from behind, feeling his emotions gradually evolving… from confusion to understanding to anger.

“You just did…” he begins slowly, “the _exact opposite_ of what I came here to do.”

“We did,” she corrects him. She feels him wince in irritation.

“You strengthened the Force,” he continues with rising indignation. “Now there will be _more_ people with the ability to wield it, _not less_.”

She sighs and looks down, shoulders slumping. Of course he would react this way. Why did she expect anything different?

He swings around to face her with accusing eyes. “Is that what you call balance?”

“Yes.” She answers without skipping a beat.

“You are a _fool_ ,” he spits in response. “You have no idea what you’ve just done… a whole goddamned galaxy full of Force-sensitives…” He shakes his head as his voice trails off. “It’s going to be chaos.”

“No, it’s going to be balance,” she says confidently as she rises. “This is why the Force brought us together, Ben, brought us here. The Force will no longer belong to the Sith or the Jedi. Or to those with the right midiclorian count or the right bloodline. Or to Snoke or an elite team of dual wielders. It can belong to anyone, including nobodies like me. Like Jian. People who are alone and desperate and powerless… now they will have a reason to hope because some of their very own will be able to access this incredible power, the Force, to rise up and defend them, protect them. People just like your grandfather was… slaves. The forgotten and the downtrodden. Together, they will usher in a new age of the Force… an age where its power will not be a guarded secret, an initiation only for the few but an opportunity to change, to become better for the many. Together they will bring balance. And we are meant to lead them.”

His eyebrows knit together, not quite catching her meaning. She begins to walk to him.

“Our destiny is bigger than what we did today.” Her eyes are wide and clear, full of purpose.  “This is just the beginning. We have work to do.”

He grunts and shakes his head. “You want me to help you clean up your mess?”

“No,” she says self-assuredly. She takes another step forward, right in front of him. She breaks her gaze and looks at his handless arm, still pressed tightly to his chest. She reaches both hands out and takes it gently, pulling it towards her. “You’ve devoted so much of your life to destruction,” she muses softly, examining his wound. She looks up at him. “It’s time for you to learn how to create. How to rebuild.”

He looks back at her with doubt… and partial assent. In the path to redemption he forged for himself, he never intended to live past today. But in a way, that’s not a true redemption. A true redemption would require something much more difficult. It would require him to live… to face the consequences of what he’s done… and try to make it right.

She feels fear wash over him. He’s terrified he can’t do it… Face everyone, face the destruction he’s wrought… and he’s afraid to live again. _Really_ live. No more hiding behind a mask.

“Ben,” she gasps, suddenly feeling a twist in her stomach. Her eyes are wide and full of her own terror. Her own worst fear.

 

“ _Please don’t leave me here alone_ ,” she begs him.

 

His eyes soften. He brings his hand up to her cheek, caressing it with his thumb. He cocks his head, looking down at her. She senses his thoughts, his memories. The interrogation on Starkiller. When he looked inside her mind and saw how lonely she was… a constant, aching loneliness, gnawing at her in the night…

And he felt compassion for her. That was the end of him, right there. And the beginning.

He sighs heavily as he looks down at her, twitching his jaw. She senses his emotions… and fills with relief and a little excitement. She can’t stop the corners of her lips from turning upwards. It’s contagious. He shakes his head and leans down to kiss her softly. She returns his kiss, bringing her hands to his face. Gently, he pulls away and rests his forehead on hers. For a moment, they just focus on the warm glow they feel between them, a mutual love thrumming like a second heartbeat reassuringly inside them. 

Gradually, he stands upright and extends his injured arm towards her.  

“I need a medic,” he says wryly, raising an eyebrow. 

“Of course!” Rey says, a little guiltily, bringing her hands to his back and leading him towards the archway.

As they walk, she can’t help but read him. He is still turbulent, uncertain, concerned about the consequences of what she just did. Still disapproving of the Force, at least as a tool that people can wield. Unsure of his role in this New Age, and his ability to be a leader in it.

Yet he’s still willing to come with her, to live with her through this great change he never wanted to see happen, to try and find his place in it.

Just like he was willing to consent for her to use his power through healing him, allowing her to fulfill her destiny as the Living Word. She knows what that means now. The Jedi texts… the artifacts… all the known knowledge about the Force. Its purpose. How it should be wielded. How it should not. The Light vs. The Dark. Over the centuries, it’s become a blindness. It’s like the Force has only been partially visible all this time. Now that it’s stronger, it can finally show its true colors… and there are many more than two.

She’s meant to show this to the galaxy, by living it and experiencing it. By exploring the Force in news ways. And leading others to as well. She’s scared and excited all at once. Mostly, she’s relieved to finally know why the Force awakened inside of her, why it swept her away from Jakku and brought her on this journey.

She reflects back on all of it, thinking about everything that has happened, that needed to happen, to bring her right here. To this moment. 

The Force bond with Ben. It was a necessary ingredient. Without it, the galaxy would be forever embroiled in a violent tug of war between two sides. Though she senses its full purpose will continue to reveal itself in the coming years, now she at least feels confident in knowing the bond’s reason for being.

Two great powers on the opposite ends of the Force, positioned to be enemies, to fight until one kills the other… They could never have united to fulfill their destiny if they weren’t in love. They needed to love each other. If not for the bond, the compassion it nurtured in them, would they have bothered to listen to one another? To consider the other’s side of the story? To do anything more than wish for the other’s destruction? To, at the end of things, be willing to set aside all logic and have faith in the other?

No. The Force needed to bring them together like this to achieve its purpose, it’s ultimate goal as an everlasting, omnipresent intelligence… balance. But balance is not a state of being; it’s a process. A process in which they still have a role to play. 

The sound of a ship overhead jerks Rey from her thoughts. She looks up and recognizes the General’s transporter. It slows as it nears the long, wide overpass into the volcano and lands on the opposite end.

She feels Ben’s heart quicken… He freezes in fear. He’s both dreaded and longed for this moment for a long time.

She squeezes his arm and gently nudges him forward. He relents, but walks more slowly. The ramp opens from the bottom of the transporter and Rey sees the General walking down it before it even touches the ground. She walks forward a few paces towards them and stands. As they draw closer to her, they both feel it… Leia’s joy. Pure joy. Rey knows the General has complex feelings about her son, but in this moment there is only pure, simple joy. 

She feels Ben relax a little at this. She smiles.

Despite the happiness of the moment, not everything feels resolved. There is still work to do. She’s the one responsible for bringing about this Revolution of the Force. Though most in the galaxy will still be unable to wield it, many more beings than ever before will be able to tap into it, to channel it… and they will discover new wonders that can be accomplished through its power.

But Rey knows that there is truth to what Ben says about the Force. It can be a corrupting influence. The discoveries that come from there being more Force-sensitives in the galaxy will inevitably bring terrors as well as wonders. She must step in and shape the course of this Revolution, make sure that use of the Force evolves in such a way that draws out its potential for good rather than facilitate its destructive possibilities.

And for that, she’ll need him.

He’ll be very reluctant. He’ll need time. A lot of time. But in the end, he’ll step up to fulfill his destiny alongside her.

They still have deep, significant differences between them, very different understandings of the role the Force can play in people’s lives. He’ll always be wary of it… But somehow, Rey knows this is a good thing. His cynicism will balance her optimism. When it comes to the qualities needed for good leadership, he has what she lacks and visa versa.

It won’t be easy, but the love the Force bond nurtured between them will guide them through the years ahead, will help bridge the gaps between them. As long as they can keep that alive, she’s confident that they will be able to rise to the challenge ahead, to lead the galaxy into a New Age of the Force… an age of balance.

**Thank you for reading! If you made it all the way to the end of my story, I’d love to hear what you think in a review. If you'd like to see how these two work out their differences about the Force, continue on to the next work in this series, Finding Balance.**

 

**May the Force be with you! Always. :)**

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE 1: Where did this story come from? Rian Johnson’s “Rey and Kylo Ren are two halves of one protagonist” comment inspired this whole thing. It made me want to write a story where Rey and Ben are enemies throughout and yet by the end, both could credibly be thought of as the hero of the story EVEN THOUGH they still have opposing views. I like morally ambiguous endings, and I was hoping that readers would see some logic in both Ben’s belief that “the Force is a corruption” but also Rey’s belief that “the Force is a gift.” Even though Rey wins out in the end, I hope that I communicated that her view isn’t necessarily “right.” 
> 
>  
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> NOTE 2: What's with the whole “Living Word” thing? I stole that from the Christian Bible. Even though I’m not religious, I’ve always been interested in the idea of the Jedi as a religion and the Force as evocative of God, especially after watching the Last Jedi and hearing Luke’s whole “It’s time for the Jedi to end… the Jedi don’t own the Force” and Yoda’s comment that implied Rey does not need formal training because she has instinctive knowledge of the Force. I thought it would be cool to interpret “The Force Awakens” idea as similar to the idea of Jesus as the herald of a religious revolution in the Bible. From a Christian perspective, Jesus was referred to as the “Living Word” because he was supposed to be living truth sent to share new messages from God, including that God isn’t just for the Jewish community but for everyone. Obviously, I tried to write Rey as a similar character, selected by the Force to usher in a new age where the Force and its power are more accessible.


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